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NARRATIVE 


OF THE 


MISSION TO RUSSIA, IN 1866, 


OF THE 


HON. GUSTAVUS VASA FOX, 

i 7 

ASSISTANT-SECRETARY OF THE NAVY. 


FROM THE JOURNAL AND NOTES 


Jr OF 

X Mf 

J. F. LOUBAT. 


a/ 


EDITED BY 

JOHN D. CHAMPLIN, Jr. 





NEW YORK: j 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 

549 & 551 BROADWAY. 

1873. 


Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by 
J. F. LOUBAT, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 




TO THE 

HONORABLE G. V. FOX. 


My dear Sir: 

Permit me to dedicate to you this booh , a memorial of 
that important and unique mission , in which I had the 
honor to act as one of your secretaries. 

Yours , sincerely , 

J. F. LOUBAT. 

New York. May, 18T3. 


1 





CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER I. 

Introductory,.Page 10 

CHAPTER n. 

Crossing the Atlantic,.22 

CHAPTER m. 

Ireland—France—England,.36 

CHAPTER IY. 

Copenhagen—The King’s Visit—The Royal Dinner—Hospitalities—The 
Stonewall—Thorvaldsen—The Museums,.54 

CHAPTER Y. 

In the Baltic—rSweaborg—Helsingfors—Gulf of Finland—Cronstadt, . 69 

CHAPTER YI. 

Peterhof—The Imperial Audience—The Resolution of Congress—At the 
Forts—The Naval Banquet,.86 

CHAPTER VII. 

Cronstadt — The Arsenal — The Steamship-Works — The Municipal Ban¬ 
quet, .115 







VI 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER VIII. 

St. Petersburg—St. Isaac’s—The Fete of the River Yacht Club Czarskoe- 
Selo,. Page 126 


CHAPTER IX. 


The Admiralty—Imperial Library—Winter Palace and 
to the Crews,. 


Hermitage—Dinner 
. 141 


CHAPTER X. 

The Nevsky Prospect—Alexander Nevsky—Steel-gun Foundery—Exchange 
and Academy of Sciences—The Merchants’Dinner, . . .151 

CHAPTER XI. 

Krasnoe-Selo—Manoeuvres—Honorary Citizenship—Cathedral of Peter and 
Paul—Mining Institute,.165 


CHAPTER XII. 

Dinner of the Good-Birth Society—Poem of Oliver Wendell Holmes, . 175 


CHAPTER XIII. 

Receptions on the Miantonomoh—Presentations at Court—Races at Czarskoe- 
Selo—Dinner of Merchants’ Society of Mutual Assistance, . .185 


CHAPTER XIV. 

Review at Krasnoe-Selo—Mr. Gromoff’s Fete—Naval Review—The Imperial 
Dinner—Ball at the English Palace,.195 


CHAPTER XV. 

From St. Petersburg to Moscow—The Nicholas Railway—Great Novgorod— 
The Kremlin—Temple of the Saviour,.208 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Prince Dolgorouky’s Dinner—F6te at the Zoological Gardens—The Bazaar— 
Church of Kazan—Agricultural Academy—Review of Troops—Novo 
Dievitchy Convent.230 




CONTENTS. vij 

CHAPTER XYII. 

Banquet of the Municipality of Moscow. Page 241 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

Kuzminki—Prince Galitzine’s Fete—The Foundling Asylum—The Romanolf 
House—Sokolniki Park,.262 


CHAPTER XIX. 

Troitza Monastery—St. Sergius—The Russo-Greek Church—The Metropoli¬ 
tan Philaret—Amerikanskai'a Avenue—Diploma of Honorary Citizen¬ 
ship—Nijny-Novgorod,.271 


CHAPTER XX. 

Official Visits—Tomb of Minin—View from the Kremlin—The Great Fair— 
The Volga—The Tea-Trade—The Merchants’ Dinner—Russian Gyp¬ 
sies, .285 


CHAPTER XXI. 

The Volga Steamers—A Peasant-Welcome—Departure from Nijny-Novgorod 
—Ship-building on the Volga—Kostroma—The Czar Michael—Susanin 
—A Lady’s Welcome,.300 


CHAPTER XXII. 

An Embarrassing Honor—The Banquet at Kostroma—Reception by Ladies— 
Mr. Fox an Honorary Citizen of Kostroma—Ribinsk, . . . 314 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

Uglitch-—Kemra—Kortcheva—Reception at Tver—A Soldier of Borodino— 
St. Petersburg Bazaar—The Great Theatre—Breakfast at the Grand- 
duchess Constantine’s,.324 


CHAPTER XXIV. 


Banquet of the English Club—Speech of Prince Gortchakoff, 


. 339 





Vlll 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER XXY. 

Imperial Presents—Mr. Jukoff’s Fete—Farewell to the Emperor—Prince 
Gortchakoff’s Dinner—Alexander Nevsky—The Alexander Institute— 
The Beauharnais Palace,. Page 359 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Rifled Guns and Targets—The Commemorative Chapel—Cronstadt Citizen¬ 
ship—Farewell Breakfast—Peasant Deputation—The Emancipation 
Medal—The Departure,.372 


CHAPTER XXVII. 

In the Baltic—The Approach to Stockholm—Official Courtesies—Gustavus 
III.—Skokloster—Jefferson—Presentation at Court—Royal Visit to the 
Ships—The Djurg&rd,.387 


CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Riddarholm—Birjer Jarl—The Mosebacken—Ulriksdal—The Royal Dinner— 
Haga—-Rosendal—Drottingholm—Queen-Dowager Josephine—Depart¬ 
ure—Kiel—Prince Adalbert of Prussia—Parting Salutes, . . 400 


CHAPTER XXIX. 

Official Correspondence,.413 

APPENDIX. 

A. Dispatch from Prince Gortchakoff to M. de Stoeckl, . . . 425 

B. Names of United States Men-of-War,.428 

C. Miantonomoh Galop, . 434 

D. Speech of Prince Gortchakoff,.436 

E. Grand-duke Alexis’s Visit to Mr. Fox, . . . ... . 440 





LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 


ENGRAVER. PAGE. 

1. ALEXANDER II., Empebob of Russia. J. C. Buttbe. Front. 

2. HON. G. V. FOX. H. B. Hall. 16 

8. “ MLANTONOMOH ”,. J. C. Buttbe. 28 

4. CHRISTIAN IX., King of Denmark . H. B. Hall. 56" 

5. PRINCESS DAGMAR. J. C. Buttbe. 58 

6. ADMIRAL LESSOVSKY. H. B. Hall. 80'" 

7. ADMIRAL CRABBE. J. C. Buttbe. 108" 

8. OLGA, Queen of Wuettemberg . do. 144 

9. MARIE, Empress of Russia. H. B. Hall. 18S 

10. ALEXANDER ALEXANDROYITC1I, Cezarevttoh . J. C. Buttbe, 286 

11. GRAND-DUKE CONSTANTINE. do. 334 " 

s' 

12. ALEXANDER, PRINCE GORTCHAKOFF. do. 362 

18. CHARLES XV., King of Sweden and Norway . do. 394 

















FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


CHAPTER I 


INTRODUCTORY. 


H Monday, tlie lGth day of April (the 4th of the 



Russian calendar), 1866, the life of Alexander II., 
Emperor of Russia, was saved providentially from the 
attack of an assassin. 

In the morning of that day, a young journeyman cap¬ 
maker, one of the newly-emancipated serfs, Ossip Ivano- 
vitch Komissaroff by name, left his house to perform the 
customary act of thanksgiving for his recovery from sick¬ 
ness. He started with the intention of going to the little 
chapel that has long been established in the log-house, 
built for his own use by Peter the Great, on an island in 
the Neva, when about to found the new capital. When 
Komissaroff reached the river’s bank, he discovered that 
the movable bridge leading to the island had been taken 
away, in anticipation of the imminent annual break-up 
of the ice. To this fact, trivial in itself, was due the 
preservation of the Emperor’s life. 



10 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


His visit to the cliapel being thus prevented, Komissa- 
roff turned his steps to the palace quay. On approach¬ 
ing the Summer Garden, a favorite place of resort in the 
spring, he saw one of the imperial carriages standing by 
the gate, and, hoping to get a sight of his liberator, whom 
he had never seen, he joined the crowd of people who 
were waiting for the Emperor to pass. While trying to 
secure a favorable position, his attention was attracted 
by a large man, who evidently was determined to force 
his way to the front, and Komissaroff, who is of small 
stature and slight frame, followed him closely. He ob¬ 
served nothing peculiar in the stranger’s appearance, 
except that he kept his right hand constantly in his coat 
pocket. 

The Emperor soon appeared, accompanied by his 
nephew and his niece, their Imperial Highnesses the 
Duke of Leuchtenberg 1 and the Princess of Baden. Be¬ 
fore getting into the carriage, he stopped to put on an 
overcoat, when the man beside Komissaroff suddenly drew 
a pistol from his pocket and aimed it at his Majesty. He 
stood so near that the shot must inevitably have proved 


1 Nicholas Maximilianovitch, Prince Roinanovski and Duke of Leuchten¬ 
berg, a major-general in the suite of the Emperor of Russia. He is the 
second child and eldest son of the late Duke Maximilian of Leuchtenberg, 
Prince of Eichstaedt, and of the Grand-duchess Marie Nicholaevna, the 
eldest daughter of the late Emperor Nicholas. Maximilian, his father, was 
the son of Prince Eugene Beauharnais. The Princess of Baden, Marie 
Maximilianovna, is the first child and elder daughter of Duke Maximilian. 
She married, February 11, 1863, Prince Louis William August, of Baden. 
It is a singular fact that the Duke of Leuchtenberg, who was with the Em¬ 
peror when Karalcozoff made the attempt on his life, was also in the carriage 
with him and Napoleon III. when the Czar was fired at in Paris, in 1867, by 
the Pole Berezowski. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


11 


fatal, had not Komissaroff, by a well-aimed blow, struck 
up his arm and caused the discharge of the weapon in the 
air. 

The indignant people fell upon the assassin with cries 
of fury, and, but for the interposition of the Emperor, 
would have torn him to pieces. His Majesty, who had 
remained calm and self-possessed during the exciting 
scene, called out, “ Let him alone, children ! ” At once 
every hand fell, and the police secured their prisoner. 

Making his way through the crowd, the Emperor con¬ 
fronted the bathed murderer, and asked : 

“ Who art thou ? ” 

“ A Russian.” 

“ A Russian ! Why, then, do you want to kill me ? ” 

“ Because you have deceived us, and given us an illu¬ 
sory liberty and emancipation without land.” 

This attempt to personate a dissatisfied serf was un¬ 
successful. Under the red shirt which he wore was 
another of fine linen, and in his pocket were papers that 
proved his connection with an infamous secret organiza¬ 
tion known as the “ Nihilists.” These papers led to the 
arrest of several hundred other members. 

The Emperor drove at once to the Kazan cathedral to 
return thanks for his safety, and thence to the Winter 
Palace, where he received the congratulations of the 
council. All the imperial family and the officers of state 
then accompanied his Majesty to the cathedral, where a 
solemn Te Deum was sung, and thanks were again given 
to God for his preservation. An impromptu reception 
was afterward held at the palace, where all who had tfie 


12 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


entree hastened to tender their congratulations in person. 
As soon as the demonstrations of loyalty had somewhat 
subsided, the Emperor asked for his preserver. General 
Todtleben, one of his Majesty’s aide-de-camp generals, the 
hero of Sevastopol, had brought Komissaroff in his car¬ 
riage, and now led him forward into the presence. The 
Emperor, much affected, embraced and kissed the bewil¬ 
dered young man, who could scarcely believe his good 
fortune, thanked him in broken words for his loyalty and 
devotion, and pronounced him a noble from that hour, 
amid the acclamations of all present. 

Komissaroff was then invited to tell his own story, 
which he did with much self-possession, notwithstanding 
the strangeness of his surroundings. The assemblage 
was thrilled to hear that he was a native of Kostroma, 
the birthplace of Ivan Susanin, who, in 1613, by a noble 
act of self-sacrifice, saved the life of the founder of the 
house of Romanoff. This remarkable coincidence made 
a deep impression on all classes of people, and it was 
universally regarded as additional evidence of the direct 
interposition of'Providence in behalf of the liberator. 

Komissaroff, in consideration of his eminent service to 
his country, in addition to the nobility conferred upon 
him by the Emperor, was authorized to add to his name 
that of Kostromsky, derived from his native town Kos¬ 
troma, to distinguish him and his descendants forever. 
Honors and decorations were showered on him by differ¬ 
ent sovereigns, lands, houses, and contributions of money 
were given him by his grateful countrymen, and the prin¬ 
cipal towns and cities presented him their freedom. ITe 


INTRODUCTORY. 


13 


was made tlie liero of the hour; his portrait was every¬ 
where, and he could not appear without exciting enthu¬ 
siasm. Indeed-, so many were the receptions and fetes 
given in his honor, and so overwhelmed was he with invi¬ 
tations, that the only question was to whom he should 
deny himself. 

The baffled assassin proved to be a Russian, named 
Dmitry Karakozoff, the son of a small landed proprietor 
of the government of Saratov. He was hut twenty-four 
years of age, and had been successively at the school of 
Penza, the University of Kazan, and the University of Mos¬ 
cow, from the last of which he had been dismissed for not 
paying his fees. Of a gloomy and hypochondriacal dis¬ 
position, he soon found fitting associates in the latter city 
among the Nihilists, whose organization bore the signifi¬ 
cant and appropriate name of “ Hell.” Nihilism in Rus¬ 
sia is the quintessence of radicalism and revolution, the 
bitter product of social corruption and moral chaos. Its 
converts, or rather perverts, are found chiefly among the 
reckless and disappointed, among those who prefer the 
uncertainties of an unknown future to what they consider 
the ills of the present. To overturn the government is to 
them the first stepping-stone to liberty and to a new 
order of things. The Nihilists found Karakozoff a willing 
tool, and on him fell by lot the business of assassinating 
the Emperor, which was to he the signal for a general revo¬ 
lution. That he failed was certainly not his fault. 

On his trial he claimed to he a nobleman, hut lie was 
not recognized as such by the proper tribunal, and the 
court sentenced him to be degraded from his civil rights 


14 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


and to suffer death by hanging. The sentence was exe¬ 
cuted on the following 15th of September. 

The attempt of Karakozoff created a profound impres¬ 
sion among the Russian people. As soon as the news 
spread, an extraordinary and indescribable enthusiasm 
seized upon all, high and low, rich and poor. Proces¬ 
sions filled the streets, living masses thronged about the 
palace, and the national hymn was sung everywhere. It 
seemed as if the people could not testify sufficiently their 
love for their sovereign and their gratitude for his escape. 

Mr. Clay, our minister to Russia, in a dispatch to Mr. 
Seward, under date of April 22, 1866, says: 

“Thousands of the people at once assembled at the 
Winter Palace, and hurrahed till his Majesty showed him¬ 
self again and again on the balcony. There they camped 
all night and the next day, renewing the demand to see 
the Emperor, and, as fast as one vast multitude saw their 
mucli-loved ruler, another succeeded. Twice I drove to 
the neighborhood of the palace. I never before saw a 
larger mass of people together, all intensely silent at the 
time, and looking steadily toward the balcony where the 
Emperor was expected to appear. And so continued the 
excitement among all ranks, till I suppose, successively, 
every man almost in St. Petersburg, from the Emperor’s 
brothers to the lowest workman, had seen their illustrious 
sovereign.” 

Mr. Clay concluded his dispatch as follows: “ Ad¬ 
dresses of congratulation have come in from all Russia and 
all Europe by telegram and post. The different 1 colonies ’ 
of foreigners here, and the Americans among others, have 


INTRODUCTORY. 


15 


sent in their addresses to his Imperial Majesty, and all 
have been gratefully and graciously received and an¬ 
swered. 

“ I expect to hear from our own land, which owes so 
much to Alexander II., and shall wait impatiently to be 
the hearer of the words of emotion which fill the hearts 
of the millions of the great republic.” 

Mr. Seward, as soon as he had received official notifi¬ 
cation of the attempted assassination, through Mr. Edward 
de Stoecbl, the Russian minister at Washington, sent a 
dispatch to Mr. Clay, expressing the President’s desire 
that he should seek a personal interview with the Em¬ 
peror, congratulate him in the name of the United States 
upon his escape, and assure him of the sincere respect, 
affection, and friendship of the American people. 

On the 29th of May, Mr. Clay delivered his address 
of congratulation to the Emperor, at a special audience at 
the Winter Palace; and the Emperor returned his thanks 
for the same to the President and People of the United 
States. 

In the mean time, the leaders of the Republican party 
in Congress, believing that something more than a mere 
formal message of congratulation was due to the nation 
that had given us its warmest sympathies in our hour of 
peril, asked on the 4th of May, through the Honorable 
Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania, the “ unanimous con¬ 
sent of the House of Representatives to introduce a joint 
resolution relative to the recent attempted assassination 
of the Emperor of Russia.” The resolution was passed 
and sent to the Senate, where it was also passed, after 


16 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


a slight amendment, on the 8th of May. Two days 
afterward the House concurred in the amendment, and 
on the 16th it was approved by President Johnson: 

JOINT RESOLUTION RELATIVE TO THE ATTEMPTED ASSAS¬ 
SINATION OF THE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 

Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representa¬ 
tives of the United States of America , in Congress assem¬ 
bled^ That the Congress of the United States of America 
has learned with deep regret of the attempt made upon 
the life of the Emperor of Russia by an enemy of emanci¬ 
pation. The Congress sends greeting to his Imperial 
Majesty, and to the Russian Hat ion, and congratulates 
the twenty million of serfs upon the providential escape 
from danger of the sovereign to whose head and heart 
they owe the blessings of their freedom. 

Sec. 2. And be it further resolved , That the Presi¬ 
dent of the United States be requested to forward a copy 
of this resolution to the Emperor of Russia. 

Approved May 16, 1866. 

To give additional significance to this solemn act of 
Congress, it was resolved to send a special envoy in 
a national vessel to carry the Resolution to the Emperor 
of Russia. For this delicate mission, Congress selected 
the Honorable Gustavus Yasa Fox, the Assistant Secre¬ 
tary of the Navy, a gentleman whose efficient adminis¬ 
tration of his branch of the service during the war had 
won recognition both at home and abroad. It was deter¬ 
mined also, at his own request, to send him in a monitor, 














INTRODUCTORY. 17 

a class of vessel which had never yet crossed the Atlantic, 
but in whose seaworthiness Mr. Fox had implicit confi¬ 
dence. The Miantonomoh, a two-turret monitor, was 
chosen for this service, and the Augusta and Ashuelot, 
two wooden men-of-war, were selected to accompany her. 

The following letter of instructions, addressed to Com¬ 
mander Alexander Murray, explains itself: 


Navy Department, ) 
Washington, May 22, 1866. f 

Sir : Mr. G. Y. Fox, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 
has been selected by the Government to bear to the Em¬ 
peror of Russia the Resolution of Congress congratulating 
him on his recent escape from assassination. 

The Department places at the service of Mr. Fox, to 
convey him to Cronstadt, the Miantonomoh, which vessel 
is to be accompanied by the Augusta. The Ashuelot has 
been ordered to report to you, at St. John’s, N. F., for 
the purpose of accompanying the Miantonomoh a portion 
of the way across the ocean, and all the way, if you deem 
her presence necessary. When you no longer need her, 
you will allow her to pursue her course to the Asiatic 
Squadron, in accordance with orders in the possession of 
Commander Febiger. 

Such aid and assistance will be extended by you to 
Mr. Fox as may be conducive to the success of his mis¬ 
sion. ITe will notify you when he has no further need of 
the Miantonomoh or Augusta, and when he shall have 
done so you will visit three or four of the principal ports 

of Europe, where our commerce extends, and from which 
2 


18 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


emigration to this country proceeds, north of Portugal. 
You will, after Mr. Fox notifies you that you are at lib¬ 
erty to direct your own movements, take the earliest 
occasion to report by letter to Rear-Admiral L. M. Golds- 
borough, enclosing him a copy of these instructions, and 
will join him, within a reasonable time, at Lisbon, unless 
he shall instruct you to meet him elsewhere or proceed 
otherwise. 

Yery respectfully, etc., 

(Signed) G. W elles, 

Secretary of the Navy . 

Commander A. Murray, 

Commanding U. S. Steamer Augusta , St. John's , A. F. 

The following was addressed to Mr. Fox, by the Hon¬ 
orable Mr. Welles, Secretary of the Navy : 

Nayy Department, ) 
Washington, May 26, 1866. j 

Hon. Gr. Y. Fox, Assistant Secretary of the Navy. 

Sir: Congress having signified its wish that you 
should convey to the Emperor of Russia the congratula¬ 
tory resolution of that body upon his escape from assas¬ 
sination, the President has been pleased, in conformity 
with the wishes thus indicated, to appoint you Assist¬ 
ant Secretary of the Navy, for that purpose; you will, 
therefore, proceed to the discharge of that duty before 
entering upon the special employment assigned to you by 
this Department. For that purpose you are authorized 
to take passage in the U. S. steamer Aslmelot, now at 
Boston, preparing to cross the Atlantic. This vessel will 


INTRODUCTORY. 


19 


convey you to St. John’s, 1ST. F. At that place you will 
find the U. S. steamer Augusta and U. S. turreted iron¬ 
clad Miantonomoli, which are destined to form a part of 
the European Squadron. On your own request, you will 
take passage in the Miantonomoh to Cronstadt, Russia, 
and, after executing the mission intrusted to you, under 
the direction of the Secretary of State, you will proceed 
to carry into effect the wishes of this Department in col¬ 
lecting information for national purposes, by visiting the 
most important naval stations of Europe. It is desirable 
that you should obtain all information that is attainable 
relative to the means which are possessed by the principal 
naval powers for building, repairing, and laying-up naval 
vessels, and whatever may be useful in regard to their 
navy yards and navy establishments. It is important 
that you should also examine some of the more modern- 
built naval vessels abroad ; and, availing yourself of your 
experience, you will be able* to institute comparisons 
between the present naval appliances and improvements 
of your own country and those of Europe. You will con¬ 
sider it your duty to procure all the information which 
you can obtain relative to naval matters, and will, from 
time to time, as you may find convenient, communicate 
the same to the Department, making your final and com¬ 
plete report on your return. 

Your absence will not be extended beyond six months. 

Wishing you a pleasant and useful tour, 

I am very truly, your friend, 

Gideon Welles, 

Secretary of the Navy. 


20 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


The following was addressed by the State Department 
to the diplomatic representatives of the United States in 
Europe: 

Department of State, i 
Washington, April , 1866. f 

To the Diplomatic and Consular Officers of the United States in 

Europe. 

Gentlemen : This will be presented to you by Gus- 
tavus Y. Fox, Esquire, Assistant Secretary of the Navy. 
It is universally acknowledged that the professional expe¬ 
rience and abilities of this gentleman have materially 
contributed to the recent triumph of our arms in his 
branch of the service, and to the improvement and devel¬ 
opment of our naval force. As he also has eminent quali¬ 
ties of character, I commend him to your regard and to 
any attentions which may serve to make his abode in 
your vicinity agreeable. 

I am gentlemen, your obedient servant, 

William H. Seward. 

The friendship which has existed between Russia and 
the United States ever since we became a nation was 
cemented anew when our ancient ally, alone of all the 
governments of the old world, sent to us words of sym¬ 
pathy when we were believed by our enemies to be in the 
throe,•> oi dissolution. 1 That act sunk deep into our hearts, 
for it proved to us that we had one friend on whom we 
could rely even in our darkest hour. Soon after, Admi¬ 
ral Popoff visited San Francisco, and we endeavored to 

show our gratitude by offering what courtesies were in 

1 Appendix A. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


21 


our power to him and liis officers. The following year, 
Russia gave emphasis to her declarations by sending into 
our waters a powerful fleet, which visited our principal 
seaports and added moral weight to our cause. The joy 
with which Lessovsky and his gallant comrades were 
received in our cities is matter of history. We welcomed 
them as friends and allies, and tried to prove by deeds all 
that our words expressed. A year after they left our 
shores, President Lincoln was struck down by the hand of 
an assassin, and again the great Empire of the East was 
prompt in sending her condolence and sympathy to us in 
our sorrow. These evidences of friendly feeling were not 
lost upon us ; and, when we heard that Alexander II. had 
been saved providentially from a similar death, we were 
moved to give utterance in the most solemn manner to 
the sentiments which affected the nation as one man. 

The Resolution of Congress, the selection of an officer 
of the government to deliver it, and the sending of one of 
our most powerful men-of-war to bear it across the ocean, 
were fitting expressions of those sentiments. 

The act was unique in our history. Never before was 
such a resolution voted by the Congress of the United 
States. Never before was such a mission sent in such an 
unexampled manner by the American people. 


CHAPTEE II. 


CROSSING THE ATLANTIC. 


E. FOX left 'Washington on Wednesday, May 23d, 



for Boston, intending to sail thence for St. John’s, 
Newfoundland, where the monitor Miantonomoh had 
preceded him. On Tuesday, May 29th, the dispatches 
of the State Department and the Eesolution of Congress 
to he presented to the Emperor of Eussia were brought 
from Washington and delivered to him by Mr. Berdan. 
On Wednesday, May 30tli, at one o’clock p. m., Mr. 
Fox, in company with Captain John Bythesea, of the 
English Boval Navy, naval attache to the British em¬ 
bassy at Washington, who had been invited to cross the 
Atlantic in the Miantonomoh with hinq set sail for New¬ 
foundland on board the double-end steamer Asliuelot, 
Commander J. C. Febicer. 

On Sunday, June 3d, at forty minutes past midnight, 
Cape Pine Light was made, and, ten minutes after, Cape 
Eace Light was seen, E. ^ N., distant twenty miles. At 
a quarter-past two a. m., made the land about Cape Eace. 
It is one hundred feet high, sloping gradually toward the 
north, and is bare of trees and vegetation. Snow was 


ARRIVAL AT ST. JOHN’S. 


23 


seen lying in streaks on tlie bills. In running up the 
coast of Newfoundland, which is bare, rugged, and pre¬ 
cipitous, the most elevated points being about one thou¬ 
sand feet high, many icebergs were seen, some grounded 
and some floating. The largest were about two hundred 
feet in height and two thousand feet in length. At a 
quarter-past twelve p. m., after a passage of three days 
and twenty-two hours, the Ashuelot cast anchor in St. 
John’s Bay, Newfoundland. 

St. John’s, which is the easternmost seaport of North 
America, has an excellent harbor, with a very narrow en¬ 
trance, capable of being defended easily, though the pres¬ 
ent fortifications are inadequate against modern artillery. 
The hills surrounding the harbor are from three hundred 
to seven hundred feet in height. The city, which contains 
about thirty-five thousand inhabitants, is built on the 
slope of these hills and consists mainly of one long, irregu¬ 
lar street, with lanes running from it. The houses are gen¬ 
erally of wood. Among the public buildings are the Gov¬ 
ernment-house, the House of Assembly, the custom-house, 
and a hospital. There are nine or ten churches, among 
which the Roman Catholic cathedral is conspicuous for 
its size. One of the features of the town are the wharves 
and stages for drying codfish, which line the shore. St. 
John’s exports annually from five hundred thousand to a 
million quintals of codfish, besides large quantities ot sal¬ 
mon, herring, cod-liver oil, seal and whale oil, and seal¬ 
skins. It was founded in 1583 by Sir Humphrey Gilbert. 

The island of Newfoundland has an area of about 
thirty-six thousand square miles, and contains a popula- 


24 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


tion of nearly one hundred and fifty thousand. It was 
discovered in 1497 by Sebastian Cabot, and named by him 
“ Baocalaos,” the Indian word for codfish. The interior 
has been but little explored, but it is estimated that at 
least one-third of the island is covered with fresh water. 
The hills, none of which are more than fifteen hundred 
feet above the level of the sea, are almost destitute of soil, 
and are covered with a stunted growth of firs and other 
small trees and shrubs. Coal-beds exist in the western 
part of the island, and copper and lead are found in con¬ 
siderable abundance, but little effort has been made to 
develop the mineral resources. The inhabitants, mostly 
English, Irish, and Scotch, and their descendants, are 
engaged chiefly in the fisheries, agriculture receiving but 
little attention. 

Mr. Fox found the Augusta and the Miantonomoh 
awaiting him at St. John’s, the squadron being under the 
orders of Commander Alexander Murray. The officers 
of the two ships were as follows: 

AUGUSTA. 

Commander , Alexander Murray. 

Lieutenant Commander , James M. Prichett. 

Lieutenant , J. D. Graham. 

Acting Volunteer Lieutenant , James R. Wheeler. 

Acting Masters , Z. S. Tanner, M. W. McEntee. 

Acting Ensign , James H. Delano. 

Mates, David Fader, C. F. O’Neill, A. II. Lewis, 
C. H. Yenable. 

Surgeon , W. K. Scofield. 


THE OFFICERS OF THE SHIPS. 


25 


Passed Assistant Surgeon, H. S. Pitkin. 

Paymaster, Judson S. Post. 

Acting Chief-Engineer, James M. Adams. 

Acting First Engineer, C. IJ. Glack. 

Acting Second Engineers, J. E. Hilliard, J. Matthews, 
George C. Castell. 

Acting Third Engineers, C. H. Pennington, William 
G. Hngkes. 

Boatswain, George Smith. 

Paymaster’s Clerk, John II. Fancher. 

MIANTONOMOH. 

Commander, John C. Beaumont. 

Lieutenant Commander, John J. Cornwell. 

Lieutenant, M. S. Stuyvesant. 

Acting Master, J. F. Alcorn. 

Acting Ensigns, J. F. Blanchard, Daniel McKay, 
Joseph S. Young. 

Mates , John McManus, E. E. Bradbury. 

Surgeon , William E. Taylor. 

Assistant Surgeon , Charles L. Green. 

Acting Assistant Paymaster, F. C. Imlay. 

Acting Chief-Engineer, William A. R. Lattimer. 
Acting First Assistant Engineer, George B. Orswell. 
Acting Second Assistant Engineers, R. D. Giberson, 
T. W. Hineline, H. K. Steever, A. J. Doty. 

Acting Third Assistant Engineers , R. B. Dick, John 
E. Edwards, James McHabb, J. A. Frank. 

Captain's Clerk, John B. Collings. 

Paymaster's Clerk, George W. Thompson. 


26 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


As every thing connected with this first trip ever made 
by a monitor across the Atlantic is of interest, the reports 
of Commander Beaumont to the Navy Department of the 
passage from New York to Halifax, and from Halifax to 
St. John’s, are given from the Report of the Secretary of 
the Navy for 1866. 

United States Steamer Hiantonomoh (3d rate), ^ 
Halifax, Nova Scotia, May, 1866. J 

Sir : I have the honor to inform the Department that, 
during the passage of this vessel from New York to 
this place, we expended one hundred and nine (109) tons 
of coal, only ten (10) tons of which were taken from the 
bunkers. When steaming, our average speed was six and 
six-tenths (6-j^-) knots. The conduct of the vessel in the 
rough weather we experienced on the 10th and 11th in¬ 
stant confirms me in the opinion already expressed to the 
Department in a previous communication, that she is an 
excellent sea-boat, as safe as and more comfortable than 

any vessel I ever served in. It was only on my arrival at 

* 

this place, on the 10th instant, that I learned from Com¬ 
mander Murray, of the Augusta, that we had experienced 
heavy weather. When leaving New York on the 6th 
instant, the draught of the vessel was fifteen feet eight 
inches (15.8) forward, fifteen feet and three inches (15.3) 
aft, at which time we had on board four hundred and 
fifteen tons of coal. I would advise not taking more on 
board, unless it is absolutely necessary to make a passage 
of more than two thousand miles. The turret and weather 
curtains, the means of battening the hatches and turrets, 


OFFICIAL REPORTS. 


27 

and the lookout tower erected on the after-part of the 
hurricane-deck, have all proved of the utmost utility. 

The tower serves both as an admirable lookout station 
and rest for the standard-compass, which, at an elevation 
of nineteen (19) feet above the hurricane-deck, is scarcely, 
if at all, affected bv local attraction. 

Since our arrival here, we have been visited by the 
civil, military, and naval authorities, all of whom have 
manifested in strong terms their admiration of the vessel. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

J. C. Beaumont, 

Commander. 

Hon. Gideon Welles, 

Secretary of the Navy, Washington , D. G. 

United States Steamer Miantonomoh (3d rate), ) 

St. John’s, Newfoundland, May 24, 1866. f 

Sir: It is again my pleasure to be able to inform 
the Department of the excellent conduct of this vessel at 
sea during our late passage from Halifax, Nova Scotia, 
to this place, between the 18th and 23d instant. 

I have seen no reason to change the opinion I have 
already given regarding her good qualities. The engines 
worked perfectly during the whole passage, not occasion¬ 
ing the slighest trouble or delay. In fitting vessels of this 
class for sea, I respectfully suggest the propriety of placing 
the sea-wheel abaft instead of forward of the pilot-house, 
in order that the helmsman may have the compass im¬ 
mediately before him; and also, from his increased dis¬ 
tance from the stem, enable him sooner to detect the sheer 


28 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


of the vessel. I would also suggest that the bottom of 
the temporary coal-crib be raised at least three (3) feet 
above the deck, in order to allow a free passage of the 
water. The one on deck is only sixteen iuches above it, 
and is therefore considerably washed in a rough sea. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

J. C. Beatjmont, 

Commander. 

Eon. Gideon Welles, 

Secretary of the Navy, Washington , D. C. 

Commander Murray was the only officer acquainted 
with the fact that the Miantonomoh was to cross the 
Atlantic, until the squadron had rendezvoused at St. 
John’s* When the Assistant Secretary of the Navy 
arrived, and it became known that he was to go on 
the monitor, there was some surprise and not a little 
anxiety expressed; but there was no disposition shown 
to hold back, notwithstanding that the officers and crews 
of the sealing-vessels, engaged in a much more perilous 
duty, freely expressed their opinion that it was dangerous 
to go to sea in such a ship as the Miantonomoh. Previous 
to this, it had been the general opinion of the public that 
the monitors were fit only for harbor defence and coast 
duty ; and, although the Monadnock, of similar construc¬ 
tion to the Miantonomoh, had safely doubled Cape Horn, 
their sea-going qualities had not yet been tested by a 
voyage across the Atlantic. It was not strange, there¬ 
fore, that there should be some apprehension as to the 



MSA^TCi 

















TIIE MIAN TONOMOH. 


29 


result of sucli a trip, with no chance to make a harbor in 
case of extraordinarily bad weather. 

The Miantonomoli was a monitor of the two-turret 
class, built at Brooklyn, in 1864-’65. She was two hun¬ 
dred and fifty-nine feet and two inches in length, fifty- 
two feet and ten inches beam, and fourteen feet and 
nine inches depth of hold. J3he drew fourteen feet and 
nine and a quarter inches, and her deck was thirty-one 
inches above water on the side. 'Her tonnage was 
twelve hundred and twenty-five, new measurement, and 
she carried three hundred and fifty tons of coal. Her 
hull was of wood, covered with seven-inch side-armor and 
two-and-a-quarter-incli deck-armor. Her turrets were 
ten inches thick, and had a diameter in the clear of 
twenty-one feet. Her engines were back-action, with 
four cylinders, of thirty inches diameter and twenty- 
seven inches stroke. She had two propellers, each of 
ten feet and six inches diameter. Her battery consisted 
of four fifteen-inch Dahlgren guns. 

The Miantonomoli was named after the celebrated 
chief sachem of the Narragansett tribe of Indians, in 
Rhode Island, who was captured and slain by Uncas, 
chief of the Moliegans, in 1643, during a raid which Mian- 
tonomoh made into his country. Sachem’s Plain, the 
place of his execution, is in the town of Norwich, Con¬ 
necticut. The site of his grave is still shown. 

June 5 th .—On Tuesday evening, at eight o’clock, Mr. 
Fox, accompanied by Captain Bythesea, went on board 
of the Miantonomoh, and at nine p. m. the squadron got 
under way. In passing out of the harbor, the Ashuelot 


30 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


unfortunately sunk a brig, but without damage to her¬ 
self, and without causing any detention. At eleven 
o’clock the ships left the coast and steered for the south 
point of Ireland. At half-past three o’clock on the 
morning of Saturday, June 16th, the southeast coast 
of Ireland was made, and at four p. m. the squadron 
came to anchor in Queenstown harbor. 

Commander Murray’s report, to the Navy Department, 
of the voyage from St. John’s to Queenstown, is as fol¬ 
lows : 


United States Steamer Augusta (3d rate), ) 
Queenstown, Ireland, June 16, 1866. ) 

Sra: I have the honor to report the arrival of this ship, 
the Miantonomoli, and Asliuelot, at this port, having per¬ 
formed the trip across the Atlantic in ten 1 days and 
eighteen hours, without accident of any kind. 

Our progress was uniform, the longest day’s run being 
176 miles, and the shortest 137; average 168. 

A great portion of the way (1,100 miles) the Mianto- 
nomoh was in tow of the Augusta, as a matter of conven¬ 
ience and precaution more than necessity, the Miantono- 
moh consuming a fair proportion of coal. 

I think she could have crossed over alone. The 
weather generally was very good, the only strong winds 
being from the westward. Heavy weather does not ap¬ 
pear to materially affect the speed or rolling of the moni¬ 
tor, for, while the other vessels were lurching about, and 

1 Apparent time; the true time would be four hours less, or ten days and 
fourteen hours. 


CROSSING THE ATLANTIC. 


31 


their progress checked by heavy seas, she went along com¬ 
paratively undisturbed or unchecked. 

I thought it inexpedient to part with the Ashuelot, the 
Augusta’s engines showing signs of weakness, which once 
or twice occasioned vexatious stoppages. The Ashuelot 
will coal here, and proceed without further delay, in obe¬ 
dience to last orders of the Department. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient 
servant, 

A. Murray, Commander. 

Hon. Gideon Welles, 

Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. G. 

The following report of the passage across the Atlan¬ 
tic, made to Secretary Welles by Assistant Secretary of 
the Navy Fox, and the log appended, give all the mate¬ 
rial facts of the voyage: 

United States Steam Monitor Miantonomoh, ) 
Queenstown, Ireland, June 16, 1866. ) 

Sir : The United States side-wheel steamer Augusta 
(third rate), 1,310 tons (old measurement), Commander 
A. Murray, senior officer; United States monitor iron¬ 
clad Miantonomoh (third rate), 1,225 tons, Commander 
J. C. Beaumont; and United States side-wheel steamer 
Ashuelot (third rate), double-ender, 786 tons, Commander 
J. C. Febiger, left St. John’s, Newfoundland, Tuesday, 
June 5th, at 10 p. m., and the two former arrived at Queens¬ 
town, Ireland, Saturday, the 16th instant, at four p. m., 
after a pleasant trip across the Atlantic of ten days and 
eighteen hours. The Ashuelot kept on to Portsmouth. 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


32 

The material facts of the passage are placed in the form 
of an abstract log, attached to this letter. 

There remains but one question to discuss concerning 
the monitor type of iron-clads invented by Captain Erics¬ 
son : Can they be constructed so as to make them efficient 
lighting, sea-going cruisers ? If not, then we must adopt 
the European models, abstain from any further attempts 
at progress, and content ourselves with a naval force for 
defensive purposes only, or invite new schemes. The facts 
with regard to the behavior of this vessel in a moderate 
gale of wind and heavy sea, when a frigate would find it 
impossible to use her battery, are as follows: Ilead to the 
sea, she takes over about four feet of solid water, which is 
broken as it sweeps along the deck, and after reaching the 
turret it is too much spent to prevent firing the fifteen- 
inch guns directly ahead. Broadside to the sea, either 
moving along or stopped, her lee guns can always be 
worked without difficulty, the water which passes across 
the deck from windward being divided by the turrets, and 
her extreme roll so moderate as not to press her lee guns 
near the water. Lying in the same position the fifteen- 
inch guns can be fired directly astern without interference 
from water, and when stern to the sea, the water which 
comes on board is broken up in the same manner as when 
going head to it. In the trough of the sea her ports will 
be liable to be flooded, if required to use her guns to wind¬ 
ward. This, therefore, would be the position selected by 
an antagonist who designed to fight a monitor in a sea¬ 
way. An ordinary vessel, high out of water and lying in 
the trough of the sea broadside-to, is attacked bv a wave 


SECRETARY FOX'S REPORT. 


33 


which climbs up the side, heels her to leeward, and, pass¬ 
ing underneath, assists in throwing her back to windward, 
when another wave is met and the heavy lee lurch re¬ 
peated. A wave advancing upon a monitor, in a similar 
position, finds no side above the water to act against; it 
therefore climbs aboard without difficulty, heels the vessel 
a few degrees to windward, and passes quickly to leeward, 
underneath. The water which has got on board, having 
no support to push it on, and an inclined deck to ascend, 
becomes broken water, a small portion going across the 
deck and off to leeward, but the largest part tumbling 
back to windward, overboard, without sending against 
the turret any thing like the quantity which first got on 
deck. The turret-guns thus occupy a central position, 
where, notwithstanding the lowness of the vessel’s hull, 
they are more easily and safely handled in a sea-way than 
guns of the same height above the water in a broadside 
vessel. 

The axis of the bore of the fifteen-inch guns of this 
vessel is six and one-half feet above the water, and the 
extreme lurch observed when lying broadside to a heavy 
sea and moderate gale was seven degrees to windward 
and four degrees to leeward, mean five and one-half de¬ 
grees, while the average roll at the same time of the 
Augusta—a remarkably steady ship—was eighteen de¬ 
grees, and the Ashuelot twenty-five degrees, both vessels 
being steadied by sail. A vessel which attacks a monitor 
in a sea-way must approach very close to have any chance 
of hitting such a low hull, and even then the monitor is 

half the time covered up by three or four feet of water, 
3 


34 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


protecting herself and disturbing her opponent’s fire. 
From these facts, not unknown to monitor-men, and the 
experience we have derived from the use of such vessels 
during the war, we may safely conclude that the monitor 
type of iron-clads is superior to the broadside, not only for 
fighting purposes at sea, but also for cruising. A properly- 
constructed monitor, possessing all the requirements of a 
cruiser, ought to have but one turret, armed with not less 
than twenty-inch guns ; two independent propellers ; the 
usual proportion of sail; and should be constructed of iron. 
The comforts of this monitor to the officers and men are 
superior to those of any other class of vessels in the navy, 
arising chiefly from her steadiness, ample accommodations, 
artificial ventilation, and the great quantity of light 
afforded by having the bull’s-eyes overhead instead of at 
the side. The commander and lieutenant-commander, 
and several of the officers, are old monitor-men, and 
acquired confidence in this form of vessel off Charleston ; 
nevertheless the officers and men deserve to share with 
their comrades in the Pacific the credit which attaches to 
extending the voyages of ships embracing so many novel¬ 
ties. 

I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obe¬ 
dient servant, 

G. Y. Fox, 

Assistant Secretary of the Navy. 

Hon. Gideon Welles, 

Secretary of the Wary, Washington, D. C. 


35 a 

j Extract from a Journal of a Passage across the Atlantic in the United States Monitor iron-clad Micintonomoh, from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Queenstown, Ireland, J. 6'. Beaumont, 

Commander, by G. V. Pox, Assistant-Secretary of the Navy. 


DATE. 

Juxb, 1S6G. 

Latitude N. 

Longitude W. 

Course. 

Distance, knots. 

Average revolutions of engines. 

Average steam-pressure. 

Coal expended, in tons. 

WINDS. 

Weather. 

Condition of the Sea. 

Extreme roll. 

TEMPERATURES. 

BAROMETER. 

| Total number of persons on 

hoard. 

Total number sick. 

Direction. 

Force. 

Deck. 

Cabin. 

Ward 

room. 

Berth 

deck. 

Engine-room. 

Fire-room. 

Water. 



a 

o 

o 

& 

Midnight, j 

o 

o 

Midnight, i 

9 A. M. 

3 

O 

9 A. M. 

6 P. M. 

Noon. 

Midnight. 

Noon. 

Midnight. 







Us. 






o 
























9.5 



Light clouds. 




32 

65 

67 





. 



41 


30.30 

149 

5 


47 50 

50 50 

X 71 JS2TC 

SO 

58. S 

17.0 

17. S 

SW. & NW. 

_do........ 

Cloudy. 


1 

4S 

3S 

67 

6S 

62 


62 

61 

97 

10S 

39 

38 

30.53 

29.95 

149 

5 


4$ 45 

47 23 

71 34 

145 

54.6 

20.0 

24.1 

N.NW... . 


.... do. 


4 

46 

40 

G8 

68 

60 

65 

68 

66 

96 

106 

41 

41 

29.90 

29.90 

149 

5 


4S 

43 30 

86.10 

150 

CO. 0 

20.0 

28.7 

N’d & W’d 

Moderate.... 


Long heavy swell from N’d. 

3 

50 

50 

65 

67 

65 

62 

64 

74 

94 

113 

46 

55 

29.75 

29.75 

149 

4 


40 19 

30 44 

83 41 

155 

56.9 

17. S 

22.1 

N’d & W’d 

... .do. 

Fine. 


5 

62 

52 

67 

68 

68 

66 

68 

68 

94 

114 

55 

57 

29.70 

29.95 

149 

4 


40 30 

35 M 

S3.04 

149 

59.5 

14.5 

21.5 

N. to N.NW.. 

_do. 

Fine. 


4 

58 

65 

64 

65 

65 

66 

70 

72 

95 

109 

54 

53 

30.20 

30.05 

149 

3. 


49 43 

31 1 ft 

85 51 

180 

55.7 

14.9 

24.0 

N’d & W’d .. 

Fresh. 

Occasional light rain. 


4 

56 

54 

62 

64 

66 

69 

72 

72 

98 

110 

55 

52 

30.00 

30.04 

149 

4 

Tuesday, 12th. 

49.5T 

27.03 

S5.04 

163 

58.0 

14.0 

25.6 

N’d & W’d .. 

Moderate.... 

Fine. 

Swell northerly, W.SW. crossing ... 

5 

63 

63 

63 

63 

66 

72 

73 

72 

99 

110 

56 

56 

30.45 

30.50 

149 

4 

Wednesday, 13th.. 

50.14 

22.26 

S4.3S 

182 

57.3 

18.0 

25.0 

W.SW. 

Fresh. 

Cloudy; light rain. 


5i 

57 

59 

65 

68 

72 

70 

73 

72 

100 

110 

57 

56 

30.42 

80.29 

149 

5 

Thursday, 14th.... 

50.13 

17.56 

89.42 

172 

61.2 

19.5 

28.0 

N’d & W’d... 

_do. 

Heavy swell, W. N., W. C. R.. 

Heavy swell from N’d and W’d. 

5i 

66 

54 

66 

67 

68 

70 

72 

73 

103 

109 

57 

56 

30.15 

80.00 

149 

5 



13 13 

39 95 

182 

fil 9 

on n 

30.05 





4 

64 


67 

70 

70 

68 

72 

71 

105 

115 

56 

52 

30.25 

30.30 

149 

5 

Saturday, 16th.... 

51.28 

8.54 




35.00 





3 



67 






112 


56 


80.00 


149 

5 



























1 Distance to Queenstown, 36 knots. 


Draught of Water. — Forward, 15'.4"; aft, 15'.2"; forward and aft, 2'.8"; amidship, 2 feet. - . .. 

The engine-room thermometer is placed in the after part of the engine-room. The fire-room thermometer is hung clear of the ventilator, eight feet from the floor-plates. The berth-deck thermometer is hung from N. D. beams, near the middle of the deck, away from galley 

Passengers: 6. V. Fox, Assistant-Secretary of the Navy, and Captain Bythesea, R. N. 

Engines throttled nearly one-half. On starting, all boilers but No. 1 were filled with fresh water. Commeneed blowing No. 1 on June 8th, 1 A. M. ; No. 2, 9th, 2 a.m.; No. 3,10th, 3 A. m. Average blowing, twice in four hours. 

REMARKS. 

Tuesday, 6th.— Left St. John’s harbor at 10 r. m., Augusta, Commander A. Murray, senior officer, and Ashuelot, Commander Febiger, in company. Counters of engines ceased to work. 

Wednesday , 6th. — Toward midnight wind freshening from N.NW. 

Thursday , 1th— Ashuelot rolling 25°; Augusta, 10°. Wind moderating. 

Friday , 8th.— Noon, stopped forty minutes, and made fast to Augusta to save coal. Banked fires under No. 4 boiler, p. m., stopped forty minutes to reparcel hawser. Augusta, under all sail, rolling 10°; Ashuelot, 20°. 

Saturday. 9th. — Stopped one hour and thirty minutes to rearrange hawser. Augusta rolled 1S°; Ashuelot, 15°. Threw overboard bottle containing latitude and longitude at noon. 

Sunday, 10th. — Stopped one hour and ten minutes for Augusta to arrange hawser. Performed divine service. Threw overboard latitude and longitude in bottle. 

Monday. 11th. — Stopped starboard engine ten minutes to replace feed-valve. Noon, threw latitude and longitude overboard in bottle. 

Tuesday , lWi.— Ends with wind west. At noon threw latitude and longitude bottle overboard. 

Wednesday, 18th.— Noon, threw latitude and longitude bottle overboard. 

Thursday, 14th. —Noon, threw latitude and longitude bottle overboard. Stopped one hour and twenty-six minutes for Augusta to adjust machinery. 

Friday , loth— Started fourth boiler at 11 a. m. At 2.40 cast off from Augusta, Stopped one hour to bend cables. 

Saturday, 16th .—At 3.30 A. m. sighted SW. coast of Ireland. Standing along the land for Cork harbor. At 4 p. M. arrived at Queenstown. 

Passage, ten days eighteen hours. Distance run by log, in knots, 1,165. 



























































































































































































































4 















ARRIVAL AT PORTSMOUTH. 


35 


United States Steamer Augusta (3d rate), ) 
Portsmouth, England, June 23, 1866. ) 

Sir : I have the honor to report that this ship and the 
Miantonomoh (third rate) arrived at this port this morn¬ 
ing, two days from Queenstown. The Ashuelot (third 
rate) was coaling when we left, and was to sail in a few 

days for Lisbon in the execution of her original “ sailing- 

% 

orders.” 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

A. Murray, 

Commander and Senior Officer. 

Hon. Gideon Welles, 

Secretary of the Xavy, Washington , D. C. 


CHAPTER III. 


0 


IRELAND—FRANCE—ENGLAND. 

HILE on the voyage, Mr. Fox threw overboard each 



' ’ day, at noon, a bottle containing the date, the lati¬ 
tude and longitude, and a request that the tinder would 
indorse the date and place of discovery on the paper and 
forward it to the nearest government official. The con¬ 
tents of three of these bottles, picked up on the coast of 
France, after drifting more than a thousand miles, were 
sent afterward by the United States minister at Paris to 
the State Department at Washington. One, thrown 
overboard June 12,1866, in latitude 49° 57' H., longitude 
27° 03' W., was found January 23, 1S67, near Omanville, 
arrondissement of Cherbourg. The second, thrown over 
June 13, 1866, in latitude 50° 14' FT., longitude 22° 26' 
W., was picked up February 1, 1867, near the town of 
Sables d’Olonne, in the department of La Yendde. The 
third, thrown over June 15, 1866, in latitude 50° 37' 1ST., 
longitude 13° 13' W., was found near the middle of Octo¬ 
ber, 1866, close to the port of Cherbourg. 

Queenstown, formerly the Cove of Cork, is situated on 
an island, on the north side of Cork Harbor, about nine 


THE ENGLISH ADMIRAL. 


37 


miles southwest from the city of Cork. Its name was 
changed from Cove of Cork to Queenstown, in 1849, in 
honor of Queen Victoria’s visit there in that year. The 
harbor is famous for its capacity and safety. The town 
is supported chiefly by the naval and military establish¬ 
ments in its vicinity. 

The Miantonomoh came to anchor between the two 
splendid English broadside iron-clads, the Achilles and 
the Black Prince. They were fine types of their class, 
and the monitor looked insignificant in comparison with 
their immense hulks; but she could undoubtedly have 
sunk both of them with ease. 

Mr. Fox and Commander Murray called, in company 
with the United States consul at Cork, on the admiral 
in command of the station, whose residence overlooked 
the roads. They found him, spy-glass in hand, examining 
the monitor from the bluff. At that distance, only her 
turrets were visible, while her neighbors, the English 
ships, looked like three-deckers. After interchanging 
salutations, the admiral asked Mr. Fox, somewhat ab¬ 
ruptly, “ Did you cross the Atlantic in that thing ? ” 
On Mr. Fox’s replying that he did, the admiral said 
with much emphasis, “ I doubt if I would! ” 

Such a conclusion was not a strange one to arrive at, 
when viewing the Miantonomoh from such a distance; 
for, with none of her hull in sight, she did not look as 
substantial as even the traditional “ cheese-box on a raft,” 
to which the original monitor was likened when she first 
made her appearance in Hampton Roads. 

Mr. Fox left the Miantonomoh at Queenstown, and, 


38 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


after visiting Dublin, crossed the Channel by steam to 
Holyhead, to collect information concerning the speed of 
the packets on that line, which were considered at the 
time to be the fastest sea-going vessels of their kind in 
the world. The Ulster, on which he took passage, was a 
side-wheel steamer, two hundred and sixty-five feet in 
length, thirty-four feet beam, and thirteen feet draught. 
Her wheels were thirty-six feet in diameter. She made 
the crossing to Holyhead, a distance of sixty-four statute 
miles, in three hours and twelve minutes, consuming 
twenty tons of coal per hour. This is equal to seventeen 
knots per hour; but deducting one knot to allow for a 
favorable tide, it shows an actual speed of sixteen knots 
or a little less than eighteen and a half statute miles per 
hour. This was then the best time ever made at sea, but 
it has since been exceeded by the extraordinary perform¬ 
ance of the U. S. steamer Wampanoag, a first-class vessel, 
of two thousand one hundred and thirty-five tons, built, 
together with her engines, by the U. S. Navy Depart¬ 
ment in lS64-’67. According to the report of Captain 
J. W. A. Nicholson, U. S. N., commander of the vessel 
during her trial-trip in February, 1S68, the Wampanoag, 
without sail, in a moderate breeze and irregular sea, 
steamed 727^^- statute miles in thirty-eight hours, which 
is equal to lOy 1 -^ statute miles each hour. During twelve 
hours, she averaged statute miles each hour, and 

her greatest speed for one hour was 2 Q 1 4 0 g u 5 q statute miles. 
The coal consumed during this trial was 12,690 lbs. per 
hour. 

The length of the Wampanoag is three hundred and 





COURTESIES TO MR, FOX. 


39 


forty-two feet, breadth forty-five feet and two inches, and 
draught of water nineteen feet. Her propeller has four 
blades, and is nineteen feet in diameter. 

In London a dinner was given to Mi’. Fox by the 
American minister, the Honorable Charles Francis Ad¬ 
ams, and Mrs. Adams, at which the most distinguished 
officials were present. At a ball at Buckingham Palace, 
Mr. Fox was specially presented to the royal family. A 
breakfast was given him to meet John Bright, and din¬ 
ners by the Russian ambassador, Baron de Brunnow, and 
by the English Admiralty, and other officials. He re¬ 
ceived, also, many courtesies from the English Govern¬ 
ment. Officers were detailed to show him the dock-yards 
and to give him all the information he required ; and 
copies of official naval publications were furnished to him 
for the use of the Navy Department. 

Meantime, the Miantonomoh and the Augusta had 
left Queenstown for Portsmouth, where they arrived on 
Saturday, the 23d of June. The Ashuelot did not accom¬ 
pany them, but sailed for Lisbon, in the execution of her 
original sailing-orders. 

u O 

The following telegram, published in the London 
Times of Saturday, June 23, 1866, announced the com¬ 
ing of the squadron: 

“ Plymouth, Friday evening. (By telegraph.) Two 
American ships-of-war passed up Channel, five miles south 
of the Eddystone, under half-steam, at eleven o’clock this 
morning; wind, south-southwest,light. Sea smooth. One 
of them, a monitor, appeared to be not more than a foot 
above the water’s edge. The only man visible was aft, 


40 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


near the flag-staff, and he looked as if standing in the 
water. The other was a very large two-masted ship, 
which slackened her speed for a short time to communi¬ 
cate with a pilot-cutter. They are, it is said, bound for 
Portsmouth.” 

The following extracts from the English journals at 
this time are interesting, as showing the impression created 
by the appearance of the Miantonomoh in their waters: 

“ A strange vessel, with a strange figure and still 
stranger name, now lies anchored at Spithead. It was 
once actually mentioned as an official difficulty in an Ad- 
miralt} r report that names could not be conveniently dis¬ 
covered for our new ships-of-war; hut the Americans 
have multiplied their frigates fiftyfold without incurring 
any such embarrassment. They call their ships after the 
rivers of their country; and, as rivers in all regions re¬ 
tain the designations given by the earliest settlers, the 
American cruisers are christened in the language of the 
red Indians. 1 What the Miantonomoh may actually sig¬ 
nify in that tongue, we shall not proceed to inquire ; what 
she represents is a matter of very great importance indeed. 
She is a real, genuine monitor—a true specimen of that 
singular fleet on which the Americans rely for their posi¬ 
tion on the seas. As these vessels resemble no other 
floating things, it follows almost inevitably that, if the 
American ship-builders are right, ours must he wrong, 
and it is our imperative duty to investigate the subject 
without prejudice or delay.” 

“It is said that the present war actually originated in 
a new fire-arm. Count Bismarck thought the needle-gun 

O o 

1 Appendix B. 


ENGLISH IMPRESSIONS OF THE MONITOR. 


41 


would render the Prussian army irresistible, and so he 
seized the opportunity of breaking up the old system of 
Europe to reconstruct it afresh. The presumption may 
be a little overstrained, but Marshal Benedek alludes to 
it in his address to his soldiers, and there is truth enough 
in the idea to iix our attention on the great questions at 
issue. Muskets and cannon now constitute the reliance 
of nations, and the Prussians have developed one of these 
instruments and the Americans the other. A Prussian 
battalion is said to be a match, by means of its needle- 
gun, for three battalions armed with the ordinary musket, 
and an American monitor is expected to be superior to 
any other fighting-ship in the world. On one of these 
points it is but too likely that we shall soon have evidence 
in abundance, and on the other we know more than we 
did, for a real monitor has just crossed the Atlantic, and 
is now lying in British waters.” 

“ The American monitor is literally a floating gun-car- 
riasre, and nothins; more. She has not the least resem- 
blance to any ordinary man-of-war either in shape or ar¬ 
rangements, but she does carry guns—enormous ones too 
—and the Miantonomoh has carried them across the At¬ 
lantic. These guns weigh upward of 20 tons, they have 
a bore of 15 inches, and they throw a 480-pound shot. 
The monitor has two turrets, and two of these guns are 
carried in each. Now, if the calibre of a gun is to decide 
the advantage in an action, we have certainly nothing to 
match the battery of the Miantonomoh. In our latest 
and most successful specimen of a fighting-ship we have 
got just half-way to the point reached by the Americans. 


42 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


The Bellerophon carries guns weighing upward of twelve 
tons, and throwing 250-pound shot. Those are our heavi¬ 
est and most powerful cannon, whereas an Italian iron¬ 
clad has just sailed for the Adriatic carrying 600-pound¬ 
ers, and the Americans, we are told, have already cast 
iruns more than twice as bis; as those of the Miantonomoh. 
Either, then, the advantage does not belong exclusively 
to the largest gun, or that advantage does not belong to 
us.” 

“ But there is another feature of the American speci¬ 
men deserving attention. This monitor, though carrying 
450-pounders, is but of 1,500 tons burden. Now, our new¬ 
est model of a light cruiser is the Pallas—Mr. Reed’s ves¬ 
sel—and she is of 2,400 tons burden, though her guns are 
only a quarter as big as those of the Miantonomoh. Even 
Captain Cowper Coles has not yet proposed to build a 
two-turret vessel of less burden than 3,000 tons, or double 
that of the monitor. Consequently, the Americans are 
far ahead of us iu combining light tonnage with heavy 
armament. Of course, there are other points for consid¬ 
eration, where the monitor might not appear to so much 
advantage. The speed of the Miantonomoh, for instance, 
in her voyage across the Atlantic, was but seven knots an 
hour, and her maximum is only put at nine. Either the 
Warrior or the Achilles, therefore, would run round her 
with ease. Then her enormous guns are of a very pecul¬ 
iar pattern and capacity. They are made to throw very 
heavy shot with a very low velocity, a principle not ap¬ 
proved by artillerists in this country. In fact, we have no 
evidence of the actual power of the Dahlgren gun against 




OFFICIAL VISITS TO THE MIAXTOXOMOH. 


43 


really good armor-plating, nor is it certain that the 300- 
pounders of the Bellerophon, if tried against the Hercules 
target, would not prove as effective as the 450-pounders 
of the Miantonomoh. What the Americans have shown 
is this, that they can send 450-pound guns to sea in a 
1,500-ton vessel.” 

On Friday, June 29th, Mr. Fox, accompanied by the 
Duke of Somerset, the Comptroller-General of the Havy, 
Rear-Admiral R. S. Robinson, and several other higli 
officials connected with the Admiralty, went to Ports¬ 
mouth to visit the Miantonomoh. The vessel was thor¬ 
oughly inspected, and the great guns were fired. The 
Duke of Somerset, who was the Chief Lord of the Admi¬ 
ralty, remarked to Mr. Fox that he did not think any 
cast-iron made in England could endure such charges of 
powder. 

At half-past nine o’clock the same evening, Mr. Fox 
started for Cherbourg in the Miantonomoh, having with 
him on board the lion. John Bigelow, United States 
minister to France, and his son. The vessels came to 
anchor in Cherbourg harbor at one o’clock, p. m., the fol¬ 
lowing day. The monitor lay in the midst of the French 
iron-clad fleet, where a comparison of our system of ships, 
with low free-board and immense smooth-bore guns, and 
the French broadside system, with small rifles, was easily 
made, and by no means to our disadvantage. 

Mr. Fox left Cherbourg at 5 p. m. for Paris. On the 
following Tuesday, July 3d, he had an interview with the 
Emperor ISTapoleon III., at the Tuileries. This was the 


44 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


day of the great battle of Sadowa, or Koniggratz, in 
which tbe Austrians, under Field-Marshal Benedek, met 
with such a decisive defeat from the Prussians. His 
Majesty received dispatches in relation to the battle, 
while conversing with Mr. Fox. 

The following report of the interview was sent by Mr. 
Fox to his Government on the same day that it occurred: 


Paris, France, July 3, 1866. 

Hon. Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy. 

Sik : Through the courtesy of the minister of the 
United States at this court, lion. John Bigelow, I was 
received to-day at a private audience by Napoleon III. 
He expressed pleasure at seeing me, and invited me to be 
seated. He then inquired very particularly about the 
monitor and her passage across the Atlantic. I explained 
to him the principles on which she was constructed, the 
draught of water, the thickness of her defensive armor, the 
size of her guns, and the smallness and cheapness of the 
vessel, in comparison with the broadside system. He 
asked about the thickness of the deck-armor and the twin 
screws, but seemed most struck with the fact that she had 
crossed the Atlantic floating only two feet out of w r ater. 
I told him that I had crossed sixty-four times, but never 
so comfortably nor with such a sense of security as in this 
monitor. He said that it w r as wonderful, but we were a 
people of great ingenuity and resource. I told him w T e 
were forced into another system from the Gloire and 
Warrior, as that system could not be operated in our 
Southern waters. He replied that his ministers would 


INTERVIEW WITH NAPOLEON III. 


45 


go and look at the vessel, and regretted that he could not 
(news of a great Prussian victory had just been received). 

He then asked .what the feeling was in the United 
States about his expedition to Mexico, and immediately 
added, “ You are all against me.” 

I answered that the people of the United States were 
trying to remember only the ancient friendship which ex¬ 
isted between the two countries. He then said : “ Mexico 
was in anarchy. I desired only to establish a stable gov¬ 
ernment, and thus prevent further expeditions ; and, now 
I am about to withdraw, I presume it will be overrun by 
your people.” 

I replied that I did not believe that our emigration 
would take that direction ; that we had an immense and 
valuable country that would not be crowded until a hun¬ 
dred millions of people had settled in it. 

He said Mexico was very rich, and, away from the 
coast, healthy. He then remarked that our debt was very 
large. 

I answered that before the war it would have appeared 
so, but that the war had developed our resources to such 
a degree that we felt no anxiety in regard to it; that we 
possessed a thousand square miles of land that bore gold 
and silver in very extraordinary quantities; and that to 
these were to be added coal, iron, copper, and agricultural 
products without parallel; that the northern section of 
the United States had not only grown richer during the 
war, but the debt was already under the process of extin¬ 
guishment by that portion of the country. 

He said that General Beauregard, whom he had seen 


46 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


a few days since, bad also remarked on tbe increased de¬ 
velopment of the North. The Emperor then spoke of the 
great vitality of the people of the United States. He 
asked about petroleum, and inquired if I thought we could 
use it for fuel. I told him of our experiments. He asked 
what I thought of the feeling South. I said that those 
who had done the fighting there, acquiesced the most 
readily in the result. He said that was always so ; and 
I added that a majority of the Southern people followed 
their lead, and that trade would ultimately allay the feel¬ 
ings engendered by the contest. 

He then explained the use he had made of the tele¬ 
graph in his Italian campaign ; asked what communication 
we had with California overland, which I answered, and 
what field-gun we had found the best; and, when I said 
the Napoleon smootli-hore, he said they had gone too far 
with rifles. 

He then asked how long I should remain in Paris, 
which I answered, and immediately withdrew. 

I am, with great respect, your obedient servant, 

G. V. Fox, 
Assistant Secretary. 

On the following Friday, July 6th, Mr. Fox had an 
interview with Prince Napoleon in the presence of Mr. 
Bigelow, our minister at Paris. In the course of the con¬ 
versation, the prince said to Mr. Fox: 

“ Ho not he too friendly with Russia.” 

Mr. F ox replied: 

** Russia and America have no rival interests. Russia 


FRENCH OFFICIALS ON THE MONITOR. 47 

lias always been friendly to America, and we reciprocate 
the feeling.” 

“ But you can stand alone,” said the prince. “ You 
do not want friends.” 

Mr. Fox answered : 

“ When it was doubtful whether we should ever stand 
again, at a time when the most powerful nations menaced 
us, Russia felt and expressed her sympathy for us, and 
America never will forget it.” 

“ Russia is for herself alone,” said the prince, after a 
few moments’ silence ; and the subject was changed. 

After this interview, Mr. Fox returned to Cherbourg. 
He was accompanied by the Marquis de Chasseloup- 
Laubat, the Minister of the Navy ; by M. Dupuy de 
Lome, the Director of Naval Construction ; and by Gen¬ 
eral Frebault, the Director of the Artillery Department 
of the Navy. These gentlemen, together with the author¬ 
ities of Cherbourg, visited the Miantonomoh, by invitation 
of Mr. Fox, and examined the vessel very critically. 

Before Mr. Fox left London, the Prince of Wales and 
the Duke of Edinburgh had expressed a desire to see the 
Miantonomoh in the Thames. Mr. Fox, anxious to please 
their Royal Highnesses, and also to give the inhabitants 
of the world’s metropolis an opportunity to see the moni¬ 
tor, sent her with her consort back to England as soon as 
the French official visit was over. She accordingly started 
for the Thames at live o’clock p. m., July 6th, Mr. Fox 
himself returning to Paris. 

The Miantonomoh and the Augusta cast anchor at 
Sheerness, at the junction of the Thames and the Medway, 


48 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


in the afternoon of Saturday, July 7th, having made the 
run from Cherbourg in twenty-four hours. On the fol¬ 
lowing day, Sunday, she changed her anchorage to the 
More. On Monday, Sir Baldwin W. Walker, the vice- 
admiral commanding at the More, with a numerous suite, 
visited her. On the same day she was thrown open to 
the public, and was visited by great numbers of people. 
Tuesday noon, July 10th, she entered the port, under 
steam, and anchored alongside of the iron-clad Lord War¬ 
den, then building on the Reed system. In comparison 
with this enormous specimen of naval architecture, the 
monitor looked almost insignificant. 

On Saturday, July 14th, their Royal Highnesses the 
Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh, accompanied 
by their suites and by a number of other distinguished 
persons, visited the Miantonomoh. The Augusta saluted 
as they boarded the monitor, and they were received by 
the officers and by the Hon. Charles Francis Adams, the 
American minister at the court of St. James, with the 
customary honors. The ship and her machinery were 
showm to them in all their details, apparently to their 
great satisfaction. 

During the stay of the Miantonomoh in the Thames, 
she was thronged daily by people who came down from 
London to see her, all appearing to take great interest in 
the new naval wonder. An article from the London 
Times , of July 17th, illustrates well the feeling which this 
new evidence of American skill and power aroused in 
England : 

“ The royal visitors at Sheerness on Saturday, as well 


OPINION OF THE LONDON TIMES. 49 

as the numerous pleasure-parties flocking tliitlier on the 
same errand, saw a very extraordinary, and—we wish we 
could not feel it—a portentous spectacle. They saw a 
fabric, something between a ship and a diving-bell—the 
Romans would have called it a tortoise—almost invisible, 
but what there was of it ugly, at once invulnerable and 
irresistible, that had crossed the Atlantic safely, and was 
anchored in our waters, with the intention of visiting 
Russia. Round this fearful invention were moored scores 
of big ships, not all utter anticjuities, but modern, for 
there were among them steamships, generally screws, 
and therefore none of them more than twenty years old. 
These ships form a considerable portion of the navy of this 
great maritime power, and there was not one of them that 
the foreigner could not have sent to the bottom in five 
minutes, had his errand not been peaceful. There was not 
one of these big ships that could have avenged the loss of 
its companion, or saved itself from immediately sharing 
its fate. In fact, the wolf was in the fold, and the whole 
flock was at its mercy. Ho human accountant will ever 
ascertain the cost of all these ships, of all sorts and sizes, 
that were once launched on the deep with a glorious 
career of destruction before them, and that are now laid 
up, many of them at their last anchorage, and painted 
that dirty yellow which is universally adopted to mark 
treachery, failure, and crime. But, to an enormous origi¬ 
nal expense, and to further cost in alterations and repairs, 
is still added the cost necessary to retard the sure process 
of decay, and to save these poor ne’er-do-wells from set¬ 
tling down at their moorings or blocking up the difficult 
4 


50 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


channel. The authorized list of the steamships and ves¬ 
sels of the Royal Navy, and of sailing-ships in commis¬ 
sion, mounts up to the important figure of 735. What 
the list includes, and what it does not include, we would 
rather not say hastily, for it is impossible to approach the 
royal harbors without seeing whole lines of unwieldy ves¬ 
sels that can hardly be included in any useful enumera¬ 
tion. But, whatever sentiments of veneration or regret 
may be roused at the sight of an old three-decker that has 
merely swung with the tide for thirty years, it is still 
sadder to read through a long list of ships of a tonnage 
and weight of metal unknown to our fathers, with first- 
rate machinery, many with accomplished officers and 
brave crews, which are all superseded by the last inven¬ 
tion, and can only come under fire to be either sunk or 
burnt. 

“ The present is the time for a naval review of a much 
more modest and useful character than either of the spec¬ 
tacles we saw before and after the Russian War. We 
have a new naval administration, and it consists of men 
who have expressed their opinions freely on that side of 
the House which is most favorable to criticism. One of 
them, indeed, only last week, improved the disastrous col¬ 
lision in the Channel with laudable promptitude, and 
without sparing the feelings of his predecessors. That 
administration may itself handle the broom that sweeps 
clean, but there are those who think no administration 
proper to be intrusted with a work of inquiry, and who 
would rather see a commission for the purpose. If, as is 
alleged, our government, by parties and frequent change 


OPINION OF THE LONDON TIMES. 


51 


of ministers, is not favorable to a continuous and consist¬ 
ent policy, it should at least give us the compensation of 
new and unbiassed opinions. When a private establish¬ 
ment remains long in the same hands, and there happens 
to be no stint of money, accumulation becomes the law 
of every department. The place is burdened and filled 
with useless servants, useless horses and carriages, useless 
furniture, useless books, and all sorts of persons and things 
that it would be a charity to pension, to'sell, or to de¬ 
stroy, as the case may happen to be. Of course, the old 
folks will never see this, and it is not till a new occupant 
has brought the common standard of the outer world to 
bear on the place that any change can be tolerated. Now, 
it is quite clear, and cannot be disputed, that every item 
in the list before us, from the Victoria, now in the Medi¬ 
terranean, with her 102 guns, her 4,127 tons, and her 
1,000 horse-power—nay, from the armor-plated Warrior, 
with 32 bigger guns, 6,109 tonnage, and 1,250 horse-pow¬ 
er, down to the fleet of screw steam gunboats, has suf¬ 
fered a certain depreciation by the fact of the Miantono- 
moh, and the forthcoming fleet of monitors, of which she 
is the precursor. The value of any weapon and any en¬ 
gine of war depends upon the existing state of the art of 
war, and the existing means at the service of the foe. Just 
as the artillery of the Normans was rendered ineffective 
by that of the Plantagenets, and just as the muzzle-loader 
has been reduced to a mere fraction of its value by the in¬ 
vention of breech-loaders, the ships which, twenty years 
ago, were said to make England impregnable, and to con¬ 
sole us for the want of unlimited armies, are now found 


52 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


to be useless against a ship that hardly shows itself above 
the water, and that can discharge with perfect steadiness 
and accuracy a projectile which even our best armor-plat¬ 
ing is not quite proof against. But, if even our best and 
latest ships have now to consider how they may fare in 
the hands of this new antagonist, what hope is there for 
the swarms of obsolete curiosities now encumbering our 
anchorages ? 

“ It is almost oppressive to think of the immense amount 
of resistance that will inevitably be roused by any at¬ 
tempt to bring our navy up to the mark of the day. In 
the first place, there is the enormous mass of costly prop¬ 
erty to be sacrificed, pulled to pieces for the materials, or 
sold for an ‘ old song.’ Anybody who has seen an old 
ship broken up will be ready to shed tears at the thought 
of such solid constructions and such excellent material be¬ 
ing thrown away. The worship of work and of material 
is natural to all of us; but man is a still finer piece of 
workmanship and a still more costly material, and we 
cannot afford to pile sailors in tall ships where they are as 
devoted to destruction as the captives said to be crammed 
into huge figures of wicker-work by our British forefathers 
and burnt in honor of their gods. If it is hardly reason¬ 
able to expect that anybody who has had a share in the 
creation of one of our magnificent three-deckers should 
ever consent to its destruction, or even its disuse, it is 
fortunate that the stern sentence may have to be pro¬ 
nounced by others. This obstruction may be got over. 
Another remains, which, we confess, gives us greater anx¬ 
iety. The officers of her Majesty’s naval service are a very 


OPINION OF THE LONDON TIMES. 


53 


gallant body of men, and they are prepared to brave tlie 
foe and the fury of the elements ; but they will not easily 
be persuaded to live below the water-line, and to be sup¬ 
plied with air by a steam-engine. It is said that these 
vessels are much more comfortable and agreeable than 
could be anticipated, that there is no feeling of insecurity, 
and that the temperature is well kept down ; but, when 
we see the obstinate unpopularity of our iron-clads, we 
can scarcely hope to see the day when the flag-ship of the 
Mediterranean fleet will only rise thirty-six inches out of 
the water. "We wait for war to convert old sailors to such 
a novelty as this. But how many ships and how many no¬ 
ble crews, that no money can replace, may be sent to the 
bottom before admirals can be brought to reason ! It is 
the public, not the service, that will lead the way ; and 
now, if ever, is the time to inquire into the changes of the 
art of naval warfare, naval gunnery, and naval construc¬ 
tion, as they affect the ships and vessels now composing 
her Majesty’s navy.” 


CHAPTER IV. 


COPENHAGEN-THE KING’S VISIT — THE ROYAL DINNER — 

HOSPITALITIES — THE STONEWALL — THORVALDSEN-THE 

MUSEUMS. 


Monday, July 16th, the Miantonomoh and the 
Augusta left the Hore for the Baltic, expecting to 
await Mr. Fox at Stettin, in Prussia. 

The English pilot who accompanied the monitor from 
the Thames was somewhat suspicions of the strange craft, 
and had his doubts of her ability to stand a heavy sea. He 
afterward said that, in the first gale she encountered, when 
he saw a “green sea, eighteen feet deep of solid water, roll 
over her bow,” he gave himself up for lost, believing that 
the monitor was going down head-foremost. But, the tops 
of the turrets keeping clear of the terrific waves, he gath¬ 
ered courage to look around, and, seeing an American sail¬ 
or quietly sewing a patch upon his trousers, apparently 
unconscious of the coming on board of the water, which 
all his own experience had taught him was fatal to a ship, 
he regained his equanimity. In subsequent gales he be¬ 
came charmed with the steadiness of the vessel, and he 
left her with regret. 

Mr. Fox arrived at Cologne on the 20th, and, hearing 


THE HARBOR OF COPENHAGEN. 


55 


that the cholera was prevailing at Berlin and Stettin, tele¬ 
graphed to Mr. Teaman, the United States minister to 
Denmark, to stop the ships at Copenhagen, as they passed 
through the straits. The squadron came to anchor at 
Copenhagen, Saturday, July 21st, and Mr. Fox joined it on 
the following Tuesday, with the expectation of sailing for 
Cronstadt the next day. But, hearing still more alarming 
accounts of the prevalence of cholera at the latter place, 
he determined to await the receipt of accurate informa¬ 
tion from the Honorable Cassius M. Clay, our minister at 
St. Petersburg, to whom he telegraphed. 

Messrs. E. II. Green, of Boston, and J. F. Loubat, of 
Hew York, joined the squadron at Copenhagen, as secre¬ 
taries to the mission, the former going on board of the 
Augusta, the latter of the Miantonomoh. 

The arrival of the American ships caused much excite¬ 
ment in the city, and anchor had scarcely been dropped 
when curious crowds in small boats surrounded the monitor. 

The Americans were not less attracted by the scene 
around them. The harbor of Copenhagen is a narrow 
arm of the sea, lying between the city proper, on the 
island of Seeland, and Christianshavn, on the small 
island of Amager, opposite. It is safe, deep, and capa¬ 
cious, having ample room for four hundred vessels. The 
city has an animated, busy appearance; but, being situ¬ 
ated on low, flat ground, it has not the commanding look 
that its massive buildings and fortifications ought to give 
it. It is protected by the strong fortress of Fredericks- 
havn, and has batteries, also, on the land side, but the lat¬ 
ter are wholly inadequate for the requirements of modern 


56 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


defence. Although one of the oldest towns in Northern 
Europe, dating from the eleventh century, it has an en¬ 
tirely modern appearance, most of its buildings being 
comparatively new. It has frequently been besieged, and 
has suffered immense losses from both war and lire. In 
1728 more than sixteen hundred houses were burned; 
and, in 1795, fifty streets and nearly a thousand build¬ 
ings, including the famous palace, were destroyed. In 
1807, when the English, under Admiral Gambier and 
Lord Cathcart, bombarded the city mercilessly for three 
days, over three hundred buildings were laid in ruins, 
and two thousand more were rendered uninhabitable. 
But Copenhagen has recovered from all its losses, and it 
is growing rapidly in size and population. It has now 
about one hundred and seventy-five thousand inhabitants. 

Mr. Fox paid his respects to the American minister, 
the Honorable George H. Teaman, at once, on his arrival, 
and spent Tuesday and Wednesday in visiting the city and 
in making the customary official calls. On Thursday, 
July 26th, he visited the Navy-Yard, officially. The 
Danish authorities received him cordially, showed him 
through the Government works, and gave him all the in¬ 
formation in their power concerning their Department of 
Marine. 

July 27th .—In the morning, Mr. Fox, Commanders 
Murray and Beaumont, and Messrs. Green and Loubat, 
were formally presented to the king, at the royal palace 
in the city, by the United States minister, Mr. Teaman. 
His Majesty made numerous inquiries in regard to the 








THE ROYAL FAMILY. 


57 


monitor, and, in response to an invitation from Mr. Fox, 
appointed the afternoon of the same day to visit her. 

Christian IX., King of Denmark, mounted the throne 
in 1863, on the death of King Frederick VII., by virtue 
of the Treaty of London of May 8,1852, and of the Danish 
law of succession of July 31, 1853. He is the son of the 
late Frederick William Paul Leopold, Duke of Sleswig- 
Holstein - Sonderburg - Gliicksburg, and of Louise Caro¬ 
line, Princess of Hesse, and was born April 8 , 1818. He 
married, May 26, 1812, Louise Wilhelmine Frederica 
Caroline Augusta Julia, the daughter of William, Land¬ 
grave of Hesse-Cassel, and has the following children : 

Frederick, Prince Royal, born June 3, 1813 5 married 
July 28, 1869, Louisa, daughter of Charles XV., King of 
Sweden and Norway. 

Alexandra, born December 1 , 1811; married, March 
10 , 1863, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. 

William, born December 21, 1815; married, October 
27, 1867, Olga, daughter of the Grand-duke Constantine 
of Russia. He accepted, on the 6 th of June, 1863, the 
crown of Greece, with the title of George I. 

Dagmar, born November 26,1817; married, November 
9,1866, Alexander, hereditary Grand-duke of Russia. She 
is now known as the Grand-duchess Marie Feodorovna. 

Thyra, born September 29, 1853. 

Waldemar, born October 27, 1858. 

In the afternoon the King and the royal family visited 
the Miantonomoh. Suitable preparations had been made, 
and Mr. Yeaman, the United States minister, and the 
principal officers of the Augusta, had come on board of 


58 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


the monitor to aid in his Majesty’s reception. At half- 
past one o’clock the thundering of the guns of the shore- 
batteries announced that the royal party was on its way. 
The marine guard of the Miantonomoh and the crew 
were at once drawn up in line on the port side of the 
deck, and the officers of both ships, in full uniform, took 
a position on the starboard side, near the gangway. 

The royal party came alongside in a pretty little 
steamer, flying the royal banner, and managed.by an offi¬ 
cer of naval engineers. Admiral Irminger, aide to the 
King, was the flrst to step on board. He was received at 
the gangway by Mr. Fox and Commanders Murray and 
Beaumont. The King then followed, the officers receiving 
him with naval courtesy, and the marines presenting arms. 
At the same moment the royal standard was hoisted at 
the fore of the Augusta, and a salute of twenty-one guns 
was fired. His Majesty gracefully acknowledged the honor 
by standing uncovered. 

Christian IK. is a tall, well-formed man, with dark 
hair, whiskers, and mustache. He wore on this occasion 
the full uniform of a general, with the Grand Cross of 
the Dannebrog, and several other decorations, upon his 
breast. The Queen was dressed simply but elegantly, 
and was exceedingly affable in her manners. 

The Crown Prince wore a military uniform, with sev¬ 
eral decorations. The Princess Hagmar, in a blue-and- 
white striped silk and pink hat, the Princess Thyra and 
Prince Waldemar, in plain costume, and the King’s 
brother, Prince John, in military uniform, constituted the 
royal family. Accompanying them, besides Admiral 



j? B: m U jS S £ ]£ AMIS 


























THE ROYAL VISIT. 


59 


Irmiiiger, were Madame de Bille, Mistress of Robes to 
the Queen, Madlle. Rosenorn, Lady of Honor, several 
other ladies near the Queen’s person, and a number of 
naval officers and officers of the King’s household. 

Next to the King, the Princess Dagmar, then the 
betrothed of the Cezarevitcli of Russia, attracted the most 
attention. She is possessed of more than ordinary per¬ 
sonal beauty. She has an oval face, regular in outline, a 
brilliant complexion, glossy brown hair, and bright, intel¬ 
ligent eyes. She conversed with freedom, speaking Eng¬ 
lish fluently and correctly, as did all the party, and dis¬ 
played a thorough knowledge of the general topics dis¬ 
cussed. 

The royal visitors were shown at once about the ship, 
each one being accompanied by an officer, who explained 
every thing. All parts of the monitor were thoroughly 
inspected, some of the ladies venturing even into the fire- 
rooms and the men’s quarters. Many inquiries were made 
concerning the machinery for moving the heavy turrets 
and the guns, and the details of the voyage across the 
Atlantic were listened to with rapt attention. All ex¬ 
pressed their gratification at the visit, and appeared to be 
much pleased with the ship and with every thing they saw. 

On leaving, the officers and men joined in giving the 
royal party three hearty cheers. The Augusta again fired 
a royal salute, and the visit was ended. 

July 28 th .—Baron Nicholas de Nicolay, the Russian 
minister at the court of Denmark, accompanied by Baron 
Wrangel, Secretary of Legation, and the consul-general 


60 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


of Russia, and their ladies, visited the Miantonomoli. As 
the representative of the country to which the American 
mission was credited, he was received with all the honors. 

Mr. Fox heard of the successful laying of the Atlantic 
cable, through Mr. O. B. Suhr, of Copenhagen. As may 
be expected, the news was received with delight by all 
the Americans. 

July 29 th .—On Sunday, by royal invitation, the mis¬ 
sion dined with the King and his family, at Bernstorff. 
The party consisted of the United States minister, Mr. 
Teaman, Mr. Fox, Commanders Murray and Beaumont, 
Messrs. Green and Loubat, and a number of distinguished 
Danish officials. 

Bernstorff, the royal summer residence, occupies a 
beautiful site in the environs of Copenhagen, about live 
miles from the city. Passing along the sea-shore road, or 
Strandvei, toward the north, one reaches, after a pleasant 
drive, the Charlottenlund, a park of about eighty acres of 
wood and garden, surrounding a countrv-house, beloncrino- 
to the crown, and usually occupied by some member 
of the royal family. This is a place of great resort 
on Sundays and feast-days, when tens of thousands of 
the citizens of Copenhagen fill its pleasant walks and ar¬ 
bors, and amuse themselves with music, dancing, and 
harmless recreations, until late at night. Across this 
park the carriage-road, continued through a fine avenue 
ol limes, leads to Bernstorff, a manor-house, built about a 
century ago by Count A. P. Bernstorff*, then a noted man 
in Denmark. It now belongs to the crown, and is occu- 


THE ROYAL DINNER. 


61 


pied generally by the King during the summer months, 
when Copenhagen, notwithstanding its high latitude, is 
hot and oppressive. 

The gentlemen were received most cordially at Bern- 
storff. At dinner, the company, twenty-five in number, 
were seated in the following order: 


Grand-Marshal d’Oxholm. 


Aide-de-camp of the King. 

Officer of the Day. 

Mr. Yeaman. 

Mdlle. Layalier, Lady to Princess 
Dagmar. 

Prince John. 

The Qdeen. 

Count Frys, Minister of Foreign 
Affairs. 

Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen. 
Mr. Green. 

Rear-Admiral Irminger. 

Commander Murray. 

Mr. Loubat. 


Prince Waldemar. 

Master of the Horse. 

Princess Thyra. 

M. Estrup, Minister of the Interior. 

Princess Dagmar. 

The King. 

Madame de Bille, Mistress of the 
Robes. 

Crow-Prince. 

Mr. Fox. 

Yice-Admiral Bille. 

Commander Beaumont. 

Equerry of the Crow-Prince. 


The menu , which was written on plain paper, with a 
narrow, red border, and with the royal arms in gold at 
the top, was as follows : 


KhsTER DU 29 JUILLET, I860. 


Oporto. Sherry. 

Ch. d’Yquem. 

Ch. Montroue. 

Oporto blanc. 

Champagne. 

Madere. 


Potage aux ecrevisses. 

Croustades it la financi&re. 

Carpes au bleu, deux sauces. 

Roast-beef aux macaronis. 

Poulets farcis aux truffes. 

Choux fleurs, saumon fume. 

P&td de foies gras de Strasbourg. 

Pate de canetons sauvages, compote, salade. 
Glace. 

Dessert. 



62 


FOX'S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


The band played, during the dinner, the Danish na¬ 
tional hvmu, “ Kin^ Christian IX.’s March, v the u Star- 
spangled Banner," and selections from •* II Trovatore " and 
“ La Traviata.” By order of the King, the “ Star-spangled 
Banner ” was repeated. 

After dinner a very agreeable afternoon was spent, 
the royal family entertaining their guests in the most af¬ 
fable and unconstrained manner. The gentlemen of the 
party will ever retain a vivid remembrance of their recep¬ 
tion, and of the kind efforts of his Majesty of Denmark to 
honor them as the representatives of the American people. 

July 30M.—All the foreign ambassadors at the court of 

Denmark visited the Miantonomoh this morning:. Thev 

were received bv Mr. Fox. Mr. Teaman, and Command- 
* 

ers Murrav and Beaumont, and honored with a salute of 

ml 

fifteen guns from the Augusta. They inspected the ship, 
and appeared to be much interested in her novelties. 

At two o’clock p. m., Count Frys, the Danish Minister 
of Foreign Affairs, made a formal visit to the monitor, 
and was received with due honors bv the same officials, the 

v / 

Augusta living the Danish ensign at her fore, and again 

C mi r? G j c 

saluting. 

This ended the official visits, but the unofficial ones 
still continued, crowds of people from the city and the 
surrounding country flocking on board all day long, as 
they had done almost every day since the ship’s arrival. 
Two steamboats, the Fulton and the El Ole, ran every 
half-hour from the city, loaded with sight-seers—men, 
women, and children—who swarmed on the Miantono- 


CONFEDERATE WAR-ilATERIAL. 


63 


moh’s deck and roamed through her at will, feasting their 
eves on her wonders. The visit of the Americans will 

V 

never be forgotten by the worthy burghers of Copen¬ 
hagen. 

In the evening, Mr. Fox, the officers of the ship, and 
the other gentlemen on board, attended a reception at the 
residence of the United States minister. Xearly all the 
members of the diplomatic corps, the Danish Minister of 
Foreign Affairs, and many other prominent persons, were 
present. The evening was passed in a very agreeable 
manner, although the absence of Mrs. Teaman, the host¬ 
ess, from indisposition, was noted, and universally re¬ 
gretted. 

July 31 st .—On Tuesday Mr. Fox received dispatches 
from Mr. Clay, announcing that the cholera was abating 
at St. Petersburg, and, hearing from the Pussian consul- 
general that it no longer existed at Helsingfors, he de¬ 
cided to sail for the latter port and to await there more 
accurate information. He telegraphed to Mr. Clay, offer¬ 
ing to go alone to St. Petersburg, being doubtful of the 
propriety of taking the ships where there was any possi- 
bilitv of the crews contracting the dreaded disease. Mr. 
Clay answered : “ Come with the ships, if it takes all 
summer.” The Augusta put to sea, therefore, at half¬ 
past two o’clock. 

While in Copenhagen, our civil war was brought very 
forcibly to mind by the discovery that a quantity of Con¬ 
federate war-material was stored in one of the Danish 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


64 

magazines. It will be remembered that the iron-clad 
ram, the Stonewall, was built originally for the Danish 
Government; but, failing to pass the inspection of the 
officials at Copenhagen, they refused to accept her, on the 
ground that she did not fulfil the contract specifications. 
This was precisely what her builder wanted, for he sold 
her immediately to the Confederates at an advanced price. 
The stores above mentioned were sent here to complete 
her outfit, but the Danish authorities, suspecting some¬ 
thing wrong, refused to let them go on board. After a 
long stay, her officers became convinced that they would 
not be allowed to fit out here, and left the port, leaving 
the material in store, where it remained intact until our 
ships arrived. On Commander Murray’s requesting its 
delivery to him, as property belonging rightfully to the 
United States Government, the Danish authorities at once 
complied, and it was transferred to the Augusta. Among 
the articles were two complete suits of sails for the ship, 
spare yards and masts, wind-sails, awnings, and covers, 
sails for small boats, two hundred rounds of 300-pounder 
Armstrong shell, two hundred rounds of 60-pounder shell, 
and other material. The sails were evidently of French 
manufacture ; the rest were probably English. The Dan¬ 
ish authorities acted in the most frank and unreserved 
manner in the transaction, and merited our thanks for re¬ 
sponding so promptly to Commander Murray’s request. 

The Americans found much to admire in Copenhagen, 
and were sorry that their visit was necessarily so short a 
one. The city possesses many attractions, some of which 
are unique. Among the places meriting especial at- 


COPEN HAGEX. 


65 


tention is the Thorvaldsen Museum, containing that ar¬ 
tist’s finest works and the private collection of pictures, 
books, cameos, coins, and bronzes, which he bequeathed 
to the city on his death. The museum building, which is 
also a mausoleum, for it contains the mortal remains of 
the sculptor, is in the form of a quadrangle, and has two 
stories. The frescoes on the exterior represent the tri¬ 
umphant reception of Thorvaldsen on his return to his 
native country, in 1838. The lower story is devoted to 
the sculptures alone, the upper contains the cabinets and 
a few of the sculptures that could not find room below. 
Of all the works in this incomparable collection, the cele¬ 
brated group of our Lord and the Twelve Apostles, the 
originals of which are in the cathedral, receives the most 
attention. They stand together in the Hall of Christ, 
producing a wonderful effect by the solemn beauty and 
earnest expression of their countenances. 

This museum, which contains all of the master’s great¬ 
est works, either the originals or copies, is the most pop¬ 
ular of all the public collections in Copenhagen. In the 
court-yard, under a bed of roses and evergreen, the artist 
lies buried, surrounded by his own immortal creations. 

The Museum of Northern Antiquities is the most re¬ 
markable collection of the kind in Europe. It was ar¬ 
ranged by Mr. Thomsen, its late director, a zealous and 
noted archaeologist, in conformity to his theory of three 
successive stages of civilization—a stone, a bronze, and an 
iron age. By the liberality of the Danish Government, 
the finder of any antiquarian object made of the precious 

metals receives the full value of it by offering it to the 
5 


66 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


museum. The collection is unrivalled, consequently, in 
gold and silver ornaments. Here may be seen specimens 
from the kjolclcenmoddings (shell-mounds) and the kist- 
f unden (coast-finds), the rude stone axes and knives of the 
earliest savage tribes, and the beautifully-polished imple¬ 
ments belonging to the later division of the stone age; 
the first weapons of the bronze age, and the exquisitely 
chased and ornamented objects characteristic of its later 
development, under Roman influence ; and a magnificent 
collection illustrative of the iron age through every period. 
Among the most noticeable specimens of the later iron 
age, the time of the Yikings, are huge swords and battle- 
axes, some of them inlaid with silver, great shields, and 
splendid suits of armor and horse-trappings. An ancient 
breech-loading cannon, one of the oldest pieces of ord¬ 
nance known, attracted the attention of our officers. It 
was found in the wreck of a man-of-war, near the island 
of Anholt, and is supposed to date from the latter half of 
the fourteenth century. 

The Ethnographic Museum is another remarkable col¬ 
lection, being the most perfect and best arranged of its 
kind. Its object is to illustrate the civilization of the va¬ 
rious nations outside of the Scandinavian countries ante¬ 
rior to the classic period, and the development founded 
on this, by comparison with savage tribes still existing. 
It includes the whole world in its range, and is invaluable 
to the student of ethnology. 

Rosenborg Castle, once a royal residence, is now de¬ 
voted to the very interesting chronological collection of 
the Danish kings. One or more rooms illustrate the reign 


LIBRARIES OF COPENHAGEN. 


67 


of each sovereign, being decorated in the style of the 
period, tilled with furniture taken from the royal resi¬ 
dences, embellished with portraits of the members of the 
royal family and famous men of the time, and many inter¬ 
esting objects—garments, arms, jewelry, etc.—that have 
belonged to the king, the court, or celebrated contempora¬ 
ries. As a well-arranged historical collection it is unsur¬ 
passed. 

There are so many objects of interest in Copenhagen, 
that it is almost impossible even to name them all. The 
Royal Library, with its 550,000 volumes and 25,000 manu¬ 
scripts ; the University Library, with 200,000 volumes 
and 4,000 manuscripts ; the Royal Collection of Coins and 
Medals ; the Arsenal, with its magnificent display of arms 
of every period ; the Zoological and Mineralogical Mu¬ 
seums ; and the several splendid collections of paintings 
and engravings, offer attractions to the traveller and stu¬ 
dent unexcelled, if equalled, in Europe. 

The famous Round Tower is worthy of a special note. 
It was built by Christian IY. for an observatory, and was 
used for that purpose for about two hundred years. It con¬ 
sists of two hollow cylinders, between which a spiral road 
winds from the street to the top, with ascent sufficiently 
easy for a carriage to drive up. It is said that Catherine 
of Russia, when she visited Copenhagen in 1719, drove a 
coach and four to the top, her husband, Peter the Great, 
preceding her on horseback. 

The Tivoli and the Alhambra are great gardens, where 
the people congregate on summer evenings to drink beer, to 
listen to music and singing, and to enjoy pantomimes and 


68 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


tlie varied amusements there offered them. The former 
employs three or four bands of music, one of which is con¬ 
ducted by one of the most famous leaders in Europe. The 
Alhambra has a ballet-troupe among other attractions, 
and usually draws crowded houses. Among the thou¬ 
sands who frequent these places, all are quiet, peaceable, 
and contented; and disturbances are seldom seen. In¬ 
deed, the Dane seeks amusement and pleasure in a rational 
way. He takes his family to the gardens, finds a quiet 
retreat where he can listen to the music, and smokes his 
pipe and quaffs his beer with an equanimity which our 
more mercurial people might envy. 


CHAPTER V. 


IN THE BALTIC—SWEABORG-HELSINGFORS—GULF OF FIN- 

L AN D-CRONST ADT. 

UGUST 1st .—Wednesday was clear and pleasant, 
with a light easterly wind. The squadron kept an 
easterly course during the morning, along the south shore 
of Sweden. Many vessels were in sight. At noon the 
south point of the island of Oland was descried ; and, 
in the afternoon, the island of Gottland came into 
view. 

August 2 cl .—Thursday opened cloudy, with a stiff 
breeze from the northwest, a drizzling rain, and a rough 
sea. The ships kept a northeast course. In the after¬ 
noon the weather moderated and ended fine, with a 
light breeze from the southeast, and a nearly smooth sea. 
Dago Island in sight. After leaving Copenhagen it was 
noticed that the water of the Baltic grew brackish, and, 
on approaching the Gulf of Finland, its freshness in¬ 
creased. The English coal obtained in Copenhagen com¬ 
pared with the anthracite previously used as eight to 
twelve. 


70 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


August 3 cl (July 22 d )'—A light breeze from the 
south and east, with a smooth sea and occasional fog. 
While standing into the Gulf of Finland, Esthonia, a 
province of Russia, was in sight on the southeast. Ran 
at slow speed, on account of the fog. At noon Finland 
was seen, the ships being then distant from Helsingfors 
anchorage twenty-four miles. Whole distance run from 
Copenhagen to Helsingfors, five hundred and forty-three 
knots ; time, seventy-two hours. 

In the afternoon, light variable winds and showery 
weather. The fortress of Sweaborg, which guards the en¬ 
trance to the harbor, soon came into sight. The approach 
to Helsingfors is very striking. The coast is ragged and 
broken, with bare granite rocks rising from the water, 
and numerous little islands covered with firs. One of 
the first objects seen is a large church, with a gilded 
spire, standing on a hill close to the sea. 

The fortress, whose massive granite bastions and cur¬ 
tains present a frowning rampart seaward, is built on 
seven islands that stretch across the mouth of the harbor, 
making a secure haven within, which is large enough to 
accommodate seventy sliips-of-the-line. It is considered 
to be so nearly impregnable that it has been called the 
Gibraltar of the Hortli. It was built by the Swedes, be¬ 
tween the years 1749 and 175S, under the superintend- 

1 The Caesarian calendar being still in use in the Russian Empire, the 
double dates are given in the account of the mission in that country. It dif¬ 
fers from the Gregorian calendar, which is now in use in all civilized coun¬ 
tries, excepting Russia, in making the year three hundred and sixty-five and 
a quarter days, or eleven minutes too long. The error has now amounted to 
about twelve days, the Russians being that much behind our time. 


ADMIRAL CRONSTADT. 


71 


ance of Count Ehrenswerd, who lies buried within its 
walls. Sweaborg was the last rampart of Sweden against 
Russia, the rallying-point of her army and her navy, 
whence she sustained her province of Finland. In the 
spring of 1808, it was surrendered by the Swedish Ad¬ 
miral Cronstadt, after a two months’ siege, to an inferior 
Russian force, although he was well supplied with pro¬ 
visions and with munitions of war. The reason of this 
almost unexampled capitulation is unknown to this day. 
Admiral Cronstadt had the reputation of being a man of 
courage and an officer of skill and of experience, and no 
proof was ever obtained that he betrayed his trust for 
money; but the fact stands against him that he surren¬ 
dered these immense works, defended by seven thousand 
five hundred men and two frigates, to a force numerically 
inferior. This act lost the whole of Finland to Sweden. 

Admiral Cronstadt was on the point, it is said, of go¬ 
ing to Stockholm to explain his conduct to the King ; but, 
hearing that lie could not do so without danger, lie retired 
to Helsingfors, withdrew himself from all his former 
friends, and lived a life of complete isolation from the 
world until his death, which occurred a few years after. 

The customary salutes were exchanged as the ships 
passed the fortress, and, at twenty minutes after three 
o’clock, anchor was dropped in the harbor of Helsingfors. 
The civil governor, Major-General Baron 'W’alleen, of the 
suite of the Emperor, 1 Yice-Admiral Hordman, and Cap- 

1 The military household of the Emperor is composed of aides-de-camp, 
officers of the suite, and aides-de-camp-general. Aides-de-camp may be of 
any rank below that of major-general and of rear-admiral. Officers of these 


72 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


tain Roudakoff, commandant of the port of Sweaborg, 
attended by their suites, all in full uniform, came at once 
on board the Miantonomoh, and welcomed, in the name 
of the Emperor, the mission to Russian waters. They 
announced that they were directed by his Imperial Majes¬ 
ty to offer to Mr. Fox the courtesies of the city. Their 
greeting met with a most cordial and hearty response from 
our officers, who rejoiced with their hosts that they had 
reached Russian territory in safety after so long a voyage. 

Helsingfors presents a handsome appearance from the 
harbor, the houses being large and regularly built, and a 
fine granite quay extending along its entire water-front. 
The streets are wide, straight, and laid out at right angles. 
On the principal square are the Senate-House and the 
University, both imposing buildings, and a very handsome 
church. The Senate and the University were removed 
from Abo, the ancient capital of Finland, after the de¬ 
struction of that town by fire in 1S27. The University, 
now called the Alexander University, was founded by 
Queen Christina, of Sweden, in 1640. It is in a flourish¬ 
ing condition, has twenty-two professors, and generallv 
four or five hundred students. Helsingfors, since its re¬ 
moval thither, has increased much in importance and 
population. The town now numbers about twenty-five 
thousand inhabitants, exclusive of the garrison, which 
consists usually of half as many more. 


August 4th (July 23d ).—On Saturday Mr. Fox, his 


ranks may be of the suite. None but lieutenant-generals, vice-admirals, and 
officers of higher grade, can be made aides-de-camp-general of the Emperor. 


BANQUET AT HELSINGFORS. 


73 


secretaries, and Commanders Murray and Beaumont, 
returned official calls in the city, and at noon attended, 
in company with the officers of the ships, an entertain¬ 
ment in honor of the mission. This banquet, which was 
given by the Civil Governor of Helsingfors, was held in 
the great mineral springs building. The military, naval, 
and civil dignitaries were present, as well as the members 
of the government institutions of Finland, in all, over one 
hundred and fifty persons. Among the guests were also 
three English officers of artillery, who happened to be in 
Helsingfors at the time. The hall was tastefully deco¬ 
rated with Russian and American flags, and with flowers 
and wreaths of leaves. 

Baron Walleen, the Governor, made a short speech in 
French, at the close of the banquet, in which he expressed 
his gratification that Finland had had the honor of first 
welcoming the American envoy within the Russian Em¬ 
pire. Mr. Fox responded briefly, expressing his thanks 
for the hospitality which had been extended to him, and 
saying that his visit had a twofold object—to congratulate 
his Majesty the Emperor on his escape, and to thank the 
Russian people for the friendly disposition which they had 
always shown toward the United States, and particularly 
during the late struggle in our country. Mr. Fox ended 
by proposing a toast to the health of the Emperor, the 
Empress, and the Imperial Family. Baron "Walleen then 
gave the health of the President of the United States, to 
which Mr. Fox responded, fittingly, closing as follows: 
“ The Emperor, the President, and the Imperial Family, 
having been toasted, I wish, gentlemen, to offer a senti- 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


74 : 

ment to the Cezarevitch, 1 Alexander Alexandrovitch. 5 
May he inherit the ehivalric valor of Alexander Nevsky, 
the good fortune of Alexander I., and the heart of Alexan¬ 
der II.” Admiral Nordman then toasted Commanders 
Murray and Beaumont, and all the officers of the squadron 
present, seizing the occasion to thank them and their com¬ 
rades in America for the reception which they had given 
to the Russian fleets in New York, Boston, and San Fran¬ 
cisco, in 1863. Admiral Nor dm an finished by amending 
his toast so as to include the whole American navy, which 
was drunk with all the honors. Commander Murray re¬ 
sponded, after which toasts were given to the English 
officers present, and to the ladies of America. Admiral 
Nordman, who proposed the latter, specified particularly 
Mrs. Virginia Fox, the wife of the envoy of Congress. 

Ole Bull, the celebrated violinist, who was present, 
delighted the company by playing a brilliant improvisa¬ 
tion on Russian and American airs, interweaving the 
melodies with sparkling variations. The artist supple¬ 
mented his performance, which was received with great 
applause, by a facetious speech, charging the Americans 
with ingratitude for not having visited the Norwegians, 
who were the first to discover America, even before 
Columbus. 

1 Since 1*721, when Peter the Great took the title of Emperor, the Rus¬ 
sian sovereigns have dropped the title of Czar, and the hereditary Grand- 
duke, or heir to the Imperial throne, has been called Cezarevitch, instead of 
Czarevitch, as formerly. It is equivalent to “ son of the Cmsar.” 

2 It is customary in Russia to add to one’s Christian name that of one’s 
father, with an affix signifying “son of” or “daughter of;” as, Alexander 
Alexandrovitch, Alexander son of Alexander ; Nicholas Nicholaevitch, Nicho¬ 
las son of Nicholas ; Marie Nicholaevna, Marie daughter of Nicholas. 


TIIE RUSSIAN SQUADRON. 


75 


During the speaking, Mr. Loubat, a part of the time, 
and Baron Walleen, Chamberlain to the Emperor and 
brother of the Governor, afterward, acted as interpret¬ 
ers. 

In the afternoon the party called at Mr. Frenckel’s, 
the United States consul, where they took coffee; and 
in the evening they were invited to a ball, in the same 
hall where the lunch had been given, which lasted until 
long after midnight. Notwithstanding its impromptu 
character, it proved to be a brilliant affair, and the even¬ 
ing passed in the most agreeable manner. 

Further courtesies were planned, but, hearing that the 
cholera no longer prevailed at Cronstadt, Mr. Fox deter¬ 
mined to proceed at once to that port. Leave was taken 
of the many friends made in Helsingfors with regret, and 
with numerous expressions of mutual regard. 

August 5th (July 2 4dfi ).—The Augusta and the Mi- 
antonomoli got under way, Sunday morning, at eight 
o’clock, amid the salutes of the batteries. The weather 
was thick, with light rain, the wind being from the south¬ 
east. After leaving the mouth of the harbor, the fog 
rose, and the Russian iron-clad fleet was descried, prepar¬ 
ing to enter the pass, which is narrow and difficult of ac¬ 
cess. The squadron had been sent from Transund, to 
escort the Americans to Cronstadt, and expected to join 
them at Helsingfors. 

As the Augusta neared the fleet, she hoisted the Rus¬ 
sian naval ensign at the fore, and saluted it with twenty- 
one guns, which were answered, gun for gun, by the Se- 


■76 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


vastopol, the flag-ship of Rear-Admiral Likliatcheff, of 
the suite of his Imperial Majesty, and Commander-in- 
Chief of the Russian iron-clad fleet, with the American 
ensign at her fore. 

The Russian rear-admiral then telegraphed (using 
the international code of signals) as follows : “ Welcome. 
I will escort you to Cronstadt. Take the lead ; your 
squadron between my lines.” 

Admiral Likliatcheff then sent on board of the Au¬ 
gusta, and afterward on board of the Miantonomoh, his 
fleet-captain and chief of staff, Captain Michael Hovos- 
silsky, to present his compliments to Commanders Murray 
and Beaumont, and to the Honorable Mr. Fox. Captain 
Hovossilsky left on board of the Augusta, Lieutenant 
Ivolontaeff, one of the aides-de-camp of Admiral Likhat- 
cheff, and one of the pilot-officers of the iron-clad Sevas¬ 
topol. These officers remained on the Augusta until she 
cast anchor in Cronstadt roads. 

The Russian fleet then formed into two columns. The 
starboard line was led by Admiral Likliatcheff, with the 
flag-ship Sevastopol, which towed the monitor Lava. The 
Vladimir followed, towing the monitor Edinorog, and the 
He Tronne Menia brought up the rear. Rear-Admiral 
Boutakoff, of the suite of the Emperor, led the port col¬ 
umn on the Khrabry. The Dmitry Donskoy followed, 
towing the monitor Perun ; next came the Yakhont tow¬ 
ing the monitor Streletz ; and last, the Smertch. The 
American ships then took position in the centre, the Au¬ 
gusta leading, and in this form the combined squadrons 
steamed for Cronstadt. 


THE ESCORT TO CROXSTADT. 


The following diagram will show clearly the place in 
line of each of the ships : 


Augusta. 




Kp.abry. 


Dmitry Donskoy. 


Pkrun. Ill 


Yakhoxt. [ql 


Streletz. 


Miantonomoh. 


Sevastopol. 


Lava. 


ill Vladimir. 


Edinorog. 


!iil Ne Tronne Menia. 


Smertch. (I|| 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE RUSSIAN SHIPS. 

Sevastopol, Captain Brummer, iron-clad frigate, carry¬ 
ing twenty-four steel eight-inch rilled guns, and five hun¬ 
dred officers and men. 

Lava, Captain Wogak, single-turreted monitor, with 
two steel nine-inch rifled guns, and one hundred officers 
and men. 

Yladimir, Captain Koudriavoy, paddle-frigate, old mod- 







78 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


el, carrying four twenty-four pounders, and one hundred 
and fifty officers and men. 

Edinorog (Unicorn), Captain Baron Klodt, single-tur- 
reted monitor, with two steel nine-inch rifled guns, and 
one hundred officers and men. 

Re Tronne Menia (Touch-me-not), Captain Selivanoff, 
iron-clad battery, carrying eighteen steel eight-inch rifled 
guns, and four hundred and fifty officers and men. 

Krabry (the Bold), Captain Belibinder, paddle-frigate, 
old model, with four twenty-four pounders, and two hun¬ 
dred officers and men. 

Dmitry Donskoy (Dmitry of the Don), Captain Ankou- 
dinoff, screw wooden frigate, carrying sixty sixty-eight 
pounders, and six hundred officers and men. 

Perun 1 (God of Fire), Captain Ivarpoff, single-turreted 
monitor, with two smooth-bore fifteen-inch Rodman guns, 
and one hundred officers and men. 

Yakhont (Jasper), Captain Kosnakoff, screw wooden 
clipper, carrying eight steel six-inch rifled guns, and two 
hundred officers and. men. 

Streletz (Archer), Captain Popoff, single-turreted mon¬ 
itor, with two steel nine-inch rifled guns, and one hundred 
officers and men. 

Smertch (Water-spout), Captain Korniloff, iron-clad 
gunboat, on the Cole’s system, with two turrets, carrying 
two steel eight-inch rifled guns, and one hundred and 
seventy-five officers and men. 

1 Perun was the chief divinity of the idolatrous Slavonians. When Vla¬ 
dimir embraced Christianity, near the close of the tenth century, he cast 
down the idol of Perun at Kiew, and dragged it at his horse’s tail to the 
Borysthenes (Dnieper), into which he threw it. 


ARRIVAL AT CRONSTADT. 


79 


Tlie day closed line, with a light westerly wind. At 
eight o’clock p. m. the combined squadrons, still keeping 
the same order, were off Hogland. 

0 

August Qth (July 25 th ).—Monday opened bright and 
clear. The weather was superb, and the blue waters of 
the Gulf of Finland rolled lazily in the sun, as the fleets 
moved into Cronstadt. The Augusta and the Miantono- 
moh, still forming the centre line, were a little in advance 
of the Russian ships. On approaching the forts of the 
great roadstead, the Augusta ran up to her mast-head the 
Russian ensign, and fired a national salute of twenty-one 
guns. A like number of guns were fired in answer from 
the commercial pier, and the American flag was hoisted 
upon the inner guard-ship. A second salute to the ad¬ 
miral’s flag was then fired from the pier, to which the 
Sevastopol responded. 

As the American steamer moved slowly into the lesser 
roadstead, many men-of-war’s boats and yachts, belong¬ 
ing to the River Yacht Club of St. Petersburg, made the 
scene lively by beating about under sail in every direc¬ 
tion. Early in the morning the public had been notified, 
by special bulletins issued by the Cronstadt Messenger, 
that the fleet would arrive at ten o’clock, and that at half¬ 
past nine the Oranienbaum steamboat, chartered by the 
city, would go out with passengers to meet the strangers. 
Accordingly, at the specified time, the Luna appeared in 
the roadstead, filled with people. As she approached the 
Augusta a band on board played “ Hail Columbia,” while 
her passengers and the crowd upon the wharves welcomed 


80 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


the American ship with loud and prolonged cheers, to 
which the officers and the crew of the Augusta responded 
heartily. The Luna then passed on and welcomed in like 
manner the Miantonomoh, which was coming into the 
lesser roadstead. 

The piers of the commercial and of the middle port 
were crowded with spectators, and it seemed as if the 
cheering would never cease. The sight of the harbor at 
this time was imposing. The Russian squadron, and the 
massive fortifications in the background, small craft scud¬ 
ding in every direction, the shores and quays black with 
people, and in the foreground the Miantonomoh moving 
majestically along the lesser roadstead, in full view of all, 
presented a stirring picture. 

At ten o’clock, when the ships came to anchor, Lieu¬ 
tenant Rikatcheff, 1 aide-de-camp of Admiral Xovossilsky, 
aide-de-camp-general of the Emperor, governor-general 
of Cronstadt, and commander-in-chief of the port of 
Cronstadt, came on board to congratulate Mr. Fox and 
Commanders Murray and Beaumont, in the name of his 
chief, on their safe arrival, and to offer his services. 

Soon after, Rear-Admiral Lessovsky, of his Imperial 
Majesty’s suite, came to congratulate the American en¬ 
voy, in the name of the Emperor, on his arrival in Russia. 
He informed Mr. Fox that, by imperial command, the 
mission and the officers and crews of the squadron were 
to be received as the guests of the government, and that 
he was charged specially with this duty, assisted by the 

1 Lieutenant Rikatcheff is editor-in-chief of the Cronstadt Messenger , the 
semi-official gazette of the Russian Xavy. 




■A2S MSMAX IJE S S ©YSKT, 






OFFICIAL COURTESIES. 


81 


following officers : Rear-Admiral Gorkovenko, of the suite 
of his Imperial Majesty; Captain Fedorovsky, aide-de- 
camp of the Emperor; Lieutenant-Captain Koltovskoy; 
Lieutenant Rikatcheff, Lieutenant Isenbeck, Lieutenant 
Lehman, Lieutenant Kupfer, Ensign Paltoff, and Mr. 
Moukhortoff, Chamberlain to the Emperor. Each of 
these gentlemen spoke English. 

Following Admiral Lessovsky’s boat came another, 
flying the Russian commercial flag, bringing the mayor, 
Mr. Steplianoff, and a deputation of the municipal gov¬ 
ernment, to offer the hospitalities of the city. The mayor 
made an appropriate address, and presented. his hearty 
congratulations. 

As soon as these gentlemen had taken their departure, 
Mr. Fox and Commanders Murray and Beaumont went 
ashore, in company with Admiral Lessovsky, to pay their 
respects to the military governor of Cronstadt, his Im¬ 
perial Majesty’s aide-de-camp-general, Admiral Novos- 
silsky. 

During their absence, Rear-Admirals Likhatcheff and 
Boutakoff, of the iron-clad fleet, all their captains, and 
their staffs, called on the Miantonomoh to pay their re¬ 
spects to Mr. Fox. They were received by Mr. Loubat, 
and shown through the monitor by Lieutenant-Com¬ 
mander Cornwell. On leaving, Admiral Likhatcheff left 
his chief of staff, Captain Novossilsky, on board the 
Miantonomoh, to offer the services of the squadron to the 
American commanders, and to impart to them the hy¬ 
gienic regulations in use on the Russian vessels to guard 
against a recurrence of the cholera, which had then near- 

n * 

6 


82 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


ly disappeared. As Admiral Likhatcheff left tlie monitor, 
the Augusta saluted him with nine guns, the Sevastopol 
replying. 

On his return from the visit to Admiral Novossilsky, 
at one o’clock p. m., Mr. Fox and his secretaries, Messrs. 
Green and Loubat, accompanied by Admiral Lessovsky, 
went up to St. Petersburg on the steamer Neva, a vessel 
belonging to the Navy Department. As Admiral Les¬ 
sovsky left the Miantonomoh, a salute of nine guns was 
fired by the Augusta, the Sevastopol returning the com¬ 
pliment ; and, as Mr. Fox set foot on the Neva, she ran 
up the American colors, when the Augusta saluted him 
with seventeen guns, as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 
and displayed the American flag on her top-gallant mast. 

On arriving at St. Petersburg, Mr. Fox paid his re¬ 
spects to Mr. Clay, the minister of the United States, and 
furnished him with a written report of his arrival, and 
with copies of all documents addressed to Mr. Fox by the 
State and Navy Departments; also with a copy of the 
Resolution of Congress, and of the speech which he pro¬ 
posed to make when presenting the Resolution to the 
Emperor. 

Mr. Fox and his secretaries also took possession of the 
apartments assigned them at the Hotel de France. After 
dining with Mr. Clay, the evening was spent in driving 
about the city. 

August 'tth (July 2 Qth ).—On Tuesday Mr. Fox made 
the customary official calls in St. Petersburg, in company 
with the United States minister. 


THE NAVAL CLUB AND LIBRARY. 


83 


On the morning of the same day Mr. Hiibner, the 
chief astronomer of the naval observatory at Cronstadt, 
visited both of the American ships, and presented to their 
commanders documents written in English, giving in full 
the rules for finding the mean time at Cronstadt, and 
showing the differences of time between the meridians of 
Greenwich, of New York, and of Cronstadt. 

At ten o’clock, Admiral Novossilsky, accompanied by 
his chief-of-staff, Rear-Admiral Izilmentieff, by Captain 
Bajenoff, and the aide-de-camp of the staff, came to re¬ 
turn the official visits made by the commanders the day 
before. The Augusta saluted him with seventeen guns, 
and hoisted the Russian flag, and the screw-corvette Gri- 
den returned the compliment with the same number of 
guns and the American flag. After inspecting the Au¬ 
gusta, the admiral visited the Miantonomoh, and exam¬ 
ined her thoroughly. The turret machinery was put in 
motion in the presence of his Excellency, and lie was 
shown the play of the fifteen-inch guns, and the action 
of the ventilators for supplying air to the cabins and 
state-rooms of the almost submarine ship. The admiral 
freely expressed his admiration of the monitor, and of 
the manner in which she had demonstrated her sea-going 
ability by crossing the Atlantic. 

After the admiral’s departure, came two other boats, 
bringing deputations from the Naval Club of Cronstadt 
and from the Naval Library. These gentlemen pre¬ 
sented to Commanders Murray and Beaumont, and to 
all the other officers of the ships, cards of membership 
of the two associations. 


84 


FOX'S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


At noon arrived in tlie eastern roadstead the steam- 
yacht Neva, displaying the flag of the River Yacht Club 
of St. Petersburg, and accompanied by the whole fleet of 
little yachts under sail. On reaching the ships a depu¬ 
tation of the members of the club came on board from 
the Neva to congratulate the Americans on their safe ar¬ 
rival. They were courteously received and thanked by 
the officers, who were much moved by the attentions 
showered upon them from every side. 

At one o’clock Commanders Murray and Beaumont, 
accompanied by Mr. Wilkins, the United States vice-con¬ 
sul, made official calls on Vice-Admiral Choulepnikoff, 
commandant of the fortress of Cronstadt, and on the other 
authorities of the port. 

At two o’clock the steamer Ijora called for the Ameri¬ 
can officers, who, to the number of thirty, accepted an in¬ 
vitation to go ashore. On nearing the haven these gen¬ 
tlemen, under escort of a lieutenant of the Imperial Navy, 
were transferred to the steam-barge Koldounchik, which 
landed them at the middle port, whence they walked by 
the Gospodskaia Street to the building of the Naval Club 
and Naval Library. They were cordially received by the 
committee of members appointed for their reception, and 
invited into the library, where finely-bound copies of the 
catalogue were presented to each officer. They were 
shown, also, the charts presented, in 1863, by the city of 
New York and the State of Rhode Island, to Admiral 
Lessovsky, who had placed them for preservation in the 
museum of the library. 

After the officers had finished their inspection of the 


LUNCH AT THE NAVAL CLUB. 


85 


building, they were invited into the great hall of the 
Naval Club, where they sat down to lunch, the band 
meanwhile playing “ Hail Columbia.” This little break¬ 
fast, which was invested with no official character, passed 
off most agreeably, and will long be remembered by those 
who received the hospitalities of the club. The occasion 
was marked throughout by a warmth of feeling and a 
delicacy of attention on the part of their hosts which put 
the Americans at once at their ease, and caused them to 
forget that they were in a foreign land. 

The commanding officers of the two ships and some 
of the authorities of Cronstadt were invited to dine with 
Admiral Novossilsky, at live o’clock in the evening. 


CHAPTER VI. 


PETEEHOF—THE IMPERIAL AUDIENCE—THE RESOLUTION OF 
CONGRESS—AT THE FORTS—THE NAVAL BANQUET. 

J^TJGTJST 8th (July 27 th). — At ten o’clock a. m., the 
Honorable Mr. Fox, accompanied by General Clay, 
Commanders Murray and Beaumont, Mr. Green, Mr. 
Loubat, and Mr. John Van Buren, of Hew York, left in 
the train for Peterhof, to present to his Majesty the Em¬ 
peror the Resolution of Congress, of which he was the 
bearer. The party were received on their arrival by the 
officials of the court at the railway-station, where car¬ 
riages were in waiting, a state-coach, drawn by four 
horses, being provided for Mr. Fox, and driven at once 
to the palace of Peterhof, where apartments were assigned 
to them. 

This imperial residence was built originally by Peter 
the Great, and, although many alterations and additions 
have been made since his time, the general character of 
the structure is preserved very nearly as he left it. It 
stands on a plateau sixty feet in height, and is reached by 
a broad flight of marble steps in front. It is painted of a 
dull yellow color, and has few claims to architectural pre- 


RECEPTION OF THE MISSION. 


87 


tension. The grounds around it are, however, very beau¬ 
tiful, being laid out in terraces, adorned with fountains 
and water-falls, from the palace to the sea-shore. The 
water-works are little, if any, inferior to those at Ver¬ 
sailles—the great fountain called “ Samson ” being espe¬ 
cially remarkable. The interior of Peterhof is rich in 
tapestries, tazzas of porcelain, malachite, and marble, and 
other priceless articles of virtu. 

Among other noted buildings in the park are Marly 
and Monplaisir. The former was a favorite residence of 
Peter the Great, who loved to watch his fleet moored in 
the waters beyond; and in the latter he breathed his last. 
The room in which he died is still shown, the furniture 
being preserved in the same condition in which he left it. 

The Emperor has a private house and grounds, adjoin¬ 
ing the lower garden of the old palace, called Alexandria, 
where he resides when at Peterhof. The building, which 
is in the style of Louis XV., occupies a most charming- 
site. There are several other cottages in the grounds, 
among them the house of the late Emperor Nicholas, from 
the roof of which he was wont to watch the allied fleets 
when in front of Cronstadt. 

There are also, among the older buildings, the cottage 
of the Empress Catherine—remarkable for its plainness 
without and its beauty within—the “ Hermitage,” and a 
thatched structure called the “ Straw Palace.” 

At two o’clock p. m. the mission had the honor of being 
received by his Imperial Majesty the Emperor. Ilis 
Excellency Prince Gortchakoff, Chancellor of the Empire 


88 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


and Minister of Foreign Affairs, stood at the Emperor’s 
right during the audience. Mr. Fox was presented by 
the United States minister, Mr. Clay, without the cus¬ 
tomary intermediation of the master of ceremonies. 

Mr. Fox read the following address in the English 
language: 

Sire : The Resolution which I have the honor of pre¬ 
senting to your Imperial Majesty is the voice of a people 
whose millions of lips speak from a single heart. 

The many ties which have long bound together the 
great Empire of the East, and the great Republic of the 
West, have been multiplied and strengthened by the un¬ 
wavering fidelity of the Imperial Government to our own, 
throughout its recent period of convulsion. 

The words of sympathy and friendship then ad¬ 
dressed to the Government at Washington, by com¬ 
mand of your Imperial Majesty, are fixed in the eternal 
remembrance of a grateful country. As one of the wide 
family of nations, we yield our willing homage to that act 
of humanity which is especially referred to in the Resolu¬ 
tion of Congress. The peaceful edict of an enlightened 
sovereign has consummated a triumph over an inherited 
barbarism, which our Western Republic has only reached 
through long years of bloodshed. 

It is, therefore, with profound emotion that I offer to 
your Imperial Majesty, to the emancipated subjects, and 
to all the people of this vast realm, our heart-felt congratu¬ 
lations upon the providential escape from danger, which 
led to this spontaneous expression of regret for the at- 


TEE RESOLUTION OF CONGRESS. 89 

tempt, and thankfulness for its merciful arrest and fail¬ 
ure. 

The story of the peril from which a kind Providence 
has delivered your Imperial Majesty brings with it the 
remembrance of the mighty sorrow which so lately filled 
every loyal heart in our own land at the sudden loss of 
our chief, our guide, our father. 

We thank God that a grief like this was spared to 
our friends and allies—the Russian people. 

May the Father of all nations and all rulers protect, 
prolong, and bless the life which He has so signally pre¬ 
served, for the service of the people to which it belongs, 
for the good of mankind, and for the glory of His holy 
name! 

G. Y. Fox, 

Assistant Secretary of the Nary. 

At the close, Mr. Fox handed to his Imperial Majesty 
the joint Resolution of Congress, congratulating him on 
his escape from threatened assassination. 

The Emperor replied to Mr. Fox’s address, his words 
being translated by Prince Gortchakoff into English, sub¬ 
stantially as follows: 

His Majesty said that he rejoiced at the friendly rela¬ 
tions existing between Russia and the United States, and 
he was pleased to see that those relations were so well 
appreciated in America. He was convinced that the na¬ 
tional fraternity would be perpetual, and he, for his part, 
should contribute all his efforts to sustain it, and to 
strengthen the bonds. He was deeply sensible of the 


90 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


proofs of the personal sympathy and affection of the 
American people, conveyed in the resolution of Congress, 
and he was grateful for them. He desired to thank those 
who had come so great a distance to bear these proofs to 
him, and he assured them of a warm welcome to the soil 
of Russia. 

His Majesty closed by remarking that the cordial re¬ 
ception which had been given to his squadron in the 
United States would never be effaced from his memory. 

Alexander II., Emperor of Russia, succeeded to the 
throne March 2 (February 18), 1855, on the death of his 
father, the late Emperor Nicholas I. 

Nicholas I., Paulovitch, born July 6 (June 25), 1796, 
married, July 13 (1), 1817, Alexandra Fedorovna, 1 pre¬ 
viously Frederica Louisa Charlotte Wilhelmine, daughter 
of Frederick William III., King of Prussia. Of this 
union were born the following children : 

1. Alexander Nicholaevitch (the present Emperor), 
born April 29 (17), 1818. 

2. Marie Nicholaevna, born August 18 (6), 1819; mar¬ 
ried, July 14 (2), 1839, Maximilian Joseph Eugene Au¬ 
gustus Napoleon, Duke of Leuchtenberg, and Prince of 
Eichstaedt. He died November 1 (October 20), 1852, and 
she married, November 16 (4), 1856, Gregory, Count Stro- 
gonoff. 3 

1 Foreign princesses, about to marry into the imperial family of Russia, 
adopt the Greek faith and with it a change of name. 

2 The Strogonoffs, ancestors of Count Strogonoff, were wealthy landholders 
of the province of Nijny-Novgorod, in the sixteenth century. Yermak, a 
Cossack chieftain, had given them much trouble by ravaging their estates. 


THE IMPERIAL FAMILY. 


91 


3. Olga Hicholaevna, born September 11 (August 30), 
1822 ; married, July 13 (1), 1846, Charles Frederick Alex¬ 
ander, Prince Royal, now King of "Wiirttemberg. 

4. Constantine Hicholaevitch, born September 21 (9), 
1827 ; married, September 11 (August 30), 1848, Alexan¬ 
dra Josefovna, previously Alexandra Frederica Henrietta 
Pauline Marianne Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph, Duke 
of Saxe-Altenburg. He is grand-admiral and aide-de¬ 
camp-general, president of the Council of the Empire, 
chief of the corps of naval cadets, of the 29th equipage of 
the fleet, chief of the regiment of hussars of the late 
Grand-duke Michael Paulovitch, proprietor of the Aus¬ 
trian infantry regiment Ho. 18, and chief of the 2d regi¬ 
ment of Prussian Hussars of the Rhine, Ho. 9. 

5. Hicholas Hicliolaevitch, born August 8 (July 27), 
1831; married February 6 (January 25), 1856, Alexandra 
Petrovna, previously Alexandra Frederica Willielmine, 
daughter of Peter, Prince of Oldenburg. He is general 
of engineers and aide-de-camp-general, inspector-general 
of the corps of engineers, of the troops of the Guard, and 
of all the cavalry, commander-in-chief of the troops of 
the military circumscription of St. Petersburg, president 
of the supreme committee of organization and of instruc¬ 
tion of the troops, chief of a regiment of grenadiers, of 
the regiment of Astrakhan Dragoons, of the regiment of 
Alexander Hussars, and of the first battalion of sappers 
of the Caucasus, proprietor of the Austrian regiment of 

About 1580 they bought him off, and hired him to go into Asia and conquer 
territory for them. He crossed the Ural and subjugated Siberia, which has 
ever since been a part of the Russian dominions. 


92 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


hussars N o. 2, and chief of the Prussian regiment of cui¬ 
rassiers No. 5, West Prussia. 

6. Michael Nicholaevitch, born October 25 (13), 1832; 
married, August 28 (16), 1857, Olga Fedorovna, previous¬ 
ly Cecilia Augusta, daughter of Leopold, Grand-duke of 
Baden. He is a general of artillery, grand-master of 
the artillery, aide-de-camp-general, Governor-General of 
the Caucasus, chief of a regiment of lancers, of a regiment 
of dragoons, chief of the regiment of grenadiers, formerly 
of Taurida, also of the regiment of hussars of White Rus¬ 
sia, of a regiment of chasseurs, of the grenadiers of the 
Caucasus, and of the Black Sea infantry regiment No. 
149, proprietor of the Austrian infantry regiment No. 26, 
and chief of the first regiment of Prussian Hussars of Si¬ 
lesia No. 4. 

Alexander Nicliolaevitch (the Emperor), married, 
when Cezarevitch, April 28 (16), 1841, Marie Alexan- 
drovna, previously Maximilienne Wiihelmine Augusta 
Sophia Marie, daughter of Louis II., Grand-duke of 
Hesse. She was born August 8 (July 27), 1824. Of this 
union were born the following children : 

1. Nicholas Alexandrovitch, Cezarevitch, born Sep¬ 
tember 20 (8), 1S43 ; died April 24 (12), 1865. 

2. Alexander Alexandrovitch, Cezarevitch (since 1865), 
born March 10 (February 26), 1845 ; married, November 
9 (October 28), 1866, Marie Fedorovna, previously Marie 
Sophia Frederica Dagrnar, daughter of Christian IX., 
King of Denmark. They have two children: Nicholas 
Alexandrovitch, born May 18 (6), 1868, who is chief of 


THE IMPERIAL FAMILY. 


93 


tlie regiment of infantry of Moscow No. 65 ; and George 
Alexandrovitcli, born May 9 (April 27), 1871, who is 
chief of the regiment of infantry of Irkutsk No. 93. The 
Cezarevitch is aide-de-camp-general and lieutenant-general 
in the suite of the Emperor, chief of the regiment of Cos¬ 
sacks of the Guard, and of the regiment No. 3 of Smo¬ 
lensk, Ataman of all the Cossacks, colonel-proprietor of the 
Austrian regiment of infantry No. 61, chief of the regiment 
of dragoons of Peresiasslaff No. 18, of the battalion of 
Finland tirailleurs Uo. 9, of the regiment of Astrakhan 
Grenadiers No. 12, of the regiment of Prussian Lancers 
of West Prussia No. 1, and second chief of the regiment 
of the Emperor’s Grenadiers of Eriwan. 

3. Yladimir Alexandrovitcli, born April 22 (10), 1847. 
He is colonel and aide-de-camp of the Emperor, chief of 
the regiment of dragoons of New Russia, of the infantry 
regiment of Dorpat, of the infantry regiment of Samour 
No. 83, and of the regiment of Prussian Hussars of Thu¬ 
ringia No. 12. 

4. Alexis Alexandrovitcli, born January 14 (2), 1850. 
He is captain and aide-de-camp of the Emperor, chief of 
the regiment of infantry of Ekatherinenburg, of the first 
company of the equipage of the Finland fleet, and a lieu¬ 
tenant in the navy. He visited the United States in 1871.‘ 

5. Marie Alexandrovna, born October 17 (5), 1853. 

6. Sergius Alexandrovitcli, born May 11 (April 
29), 1857. He is chief of the second battalion of Chas¬ 
seurs of the Guard, and of the infantry regiment of 
Tobolsk. 


1 Appendix E. 


94 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


7. Paul Alexandrovitch, born October 3 (Sept. 21), 
1860. lie is chief of the infantry regiment of Kura, and 
of the hussar regiment of the Guard (Hussars of Grodno). 

Immediately after the reception of Mr. Fox, Mr. Clay 
had the honor to present to his Imperial Majesty the fol¬ 
lowing gentlemen : Commanders Murray and Beaumont, 
and Messrs. Green, Loubat, and Van Buren. 

The Emperor then addressed a few words to Mr. Fox, 
and asked several questions of the others, after which the 
mission retired. 

After the audience, Mr. Fox sent a telegram by the 
Atlantic cable, which had just been laid, to the Honora¬ 
ble Mr. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States, 
announcing the delivery of the Resolution of Congress. 
It read as follows : 

“William H. Seward, Secretary State, America. Res¬ 
olution of Congress presented personally to Emperor of 
Russia at one to-day. Fox. 

“St. Petersburg, Wednesday , August , 8, 1866.” 

This was the first message ever sent from Russia to 

America bv the Atlantic cable. 

«/ 

Mr. Fox having expressed a desire to visit Mr. Ko- 
missaroff-Kostromsky, who resided at Peterhof, Mr. 
Abaza accompanied him and the other gentlemen to 
his house. 

Mr. Fox addressed the savior of the Emperor as fol¬ 
lows : 

“ I have come to express to you my personal respect, 


VISIT TO KOMISSAROFF. 


95 


and to congratulate you, in the name of the people of the 
United States, in having been chosen by Divine Provi¬ 
dence to save a life dear not only to Russia, but to the 
civilized world.” 

Mr. Abaza translated these words to Komissaroff, who 
shook hands with Mr. Fox and the gentlemen with him, 
and expressed his profound gratitude for the honor they 
had done him. 

The party lunched with the Minister of the Court, and, 
after visiting the grounds and several of the palaces at 
Peterhof, returned to St. Petersburg at five o’clock p. m. 

Meantime, the other officers of the United States ves¬ 
sels had not been forgotten. At half-past ten of the same 
day that Mr. Fox and the gentlemen accompanying him 
were presented to the Emperor, Rear-Admiral'Lessovsky, 
with several other members of the Committee of Recep¬ 
tion, called for them on the steamer Onega. An hour 
after they were landed at Peterhof, where they found 
court-carriages 1 awaiting them. In these they rode 
through the shady avenues of the park, visited the foun¬ 
tains, the pond of Marly, the isles of Czaritzine (of the 
Czarina) and of Olgine (of Olga), and the other chief objects 
of interest in that paradise of nature and of art. They 
were shown also through the private residence of the Em¬ 
peror, which is rich in articles of virtu and in pictures. 

After visiting the palace of Peterhof, the company 
returned, at half-past three o’clock, to Monplaisir, in the 

1 Open carriages of a style resembling the hunting equipages of the time 
of Louis XIV. They are used in Russia by the Imperial Court only. 


96 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


lower park, where dinner had been prepared for them. 
After dinner, the baths, the fountains of the old park, 
and the imperial stables, were inspected, when the car¬ 
riages were again brought into requisition, and all re¬ 
turned to Monplaisir, where a band of musicians was 
placed, and a numerous and distinguished company had 
gathered to see the guests of the Emperor. As usual, the 
music began with “Hail Columbia” and “Yankee Doo¬ 
dle,” which were received enthusiastically by the assem¬ 
blage. 

Two episodes connected with the visit of our officers 
to Peterhof are worth relating. While passing through 
the lower garden, near the imperial baths, they met by 
chance General Todtleben, the hero of Sevastopol. On 
his being pointed out to them, the Americans expressed a 
desire to be presented to him. To this the general gladly 
assented, and the entire party, with feelings of peculiar 
admiration and regard, shook hands with the world-re¬ 
nowned engineer, who so long and so ably held in check 
the combined allied forces in that never-to-be-forgotten 
siege. In parting, they gave him three lusty cheers, 
which awoke the echoes of Peterhof. The other episode 
occurred on the island of Czaritzine. An oak-tree was 
pointed out that grew from an acorn taken from the tree 
that shades the tomb of Washington. Our officers sur¬ 
rounded the young tree with a feeling akin to religious 
sentiment. Each reverently plucked a leaf from its 
branches to carry home with him, to testify how pro¬ 
found is the homage paid in Pussia to the memory of the 
great founder of our republic. 


THE EMPRESS'S BIRTHDAY. 


97 


The remainder of the day was spent on the island of 
Yelaguine, where a grand display of fireworks took place 
in honor of the Empress, it being the anniversary of her 
birthday. Night had already fallen when the Onega en¬ 
tered the Little Nevka, and stopped alongside the steam- 
yacht Neva, belonging to the Minister of the Navy. 
The banks of the river were lined with spectators. Bon¬ 
fires blazed, and the stream was literally covered with 
thousands of row-boats, carrying lanterns and torches. 
Music resounded everywhere, and on all sides the Onega 
was greeted with cheers and with our national air. Our 
officers were received on the yacht Neva by Aide-de-Camp 
General Crabbe, who invited them to witness the fire¬ 
works from his boat. Whichever way they moved, wher¬ 
ever they were seen, they were received with enthusiastic 
shouts, which proved how heart-felt and sympathetic 
were the feelings of the masses. Deeply impressed, they 
responded freely with cheers to the acclamations of the 
people. 

At eleven o’clock the fireworks came to an end, and 
the party, gratified with the experiences of the day, de¬ 
parted for the Hotel de France, where apartments had 
been prepared for them. 

August 9th {July 28^A). —On Friday morning, Mr. 
Fox, his secretaries, Commanders Murray and Beaumont, 
General Clay, and Mr. Jeremiah Curtin, Secretary of the 
U. S. Legation at St. Petersburg, proceeded to Cronstadt 
to join the squadron, and assist at the reception of his 

Majesty, who had signified his desire to visit the ships. 

7 


9S 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


At eleven o’clock, tlie imperial yacht Alexandria, bearing 
tlie “ swallow-tailed ” flag of the Emperor, was seen ap¬ 
proaching the roadstead from the direction of Oranien- 
baum. As she came within close signal-distance, the 
Augusta saluted with twenty-one guns, which was an¬ 
swered by the Russian corvette Griden. 

The Emperor went first on board the Miantonomoh, 
accompanied by his Imperial Highness the Cezarevitch, 
Grand-duke Alexander Alexandrovitch, and by their Im¬ 
perial Highnesses the Grand-dukes Vladimir Alexandro¬ 
vitch and Nicholas Nicholaevitch, tlie elder—brother of 
the Emperor. With the imperial party were the most 
distinguished officials. After examining the monitor criti¬ 
cally, the Emperor, accompanied by his imperial and offi¬ 
cial associates, proceeded to the Augusta, where he was 
received by Mr. Fox, General Clay, Commanders Mur¬ 
ray and Beaumont, and all the other officers, with the 
naval honors usual on such occasions. From the deck of 
the vessel his Majesty witnessed an imperial salute, fired 
by the fifteen-inch guns of the Miantonomoh—the first 
and only salute ever given by this class of guns, whose 
huge mouths are, by orders of the Navy Department, 
closed except for war purposes. After a short stay on 
board the Augusta, the Emperor took his departure. As 
he left, the yards of the Augusta were manned, an impe¬ 
rial salute was fired, and the officers and crews of the 
squadron cheered. 

Before leaving the Augusta, the Emperor invited Gen¬ 
eral Clay, Mr. Fox, Commander Murray, Commander 
Beaumont, and Mr. Van Buren, to accompany him to visit 


NAVAL REVIEW. 


99 


the Russian fleet, and witness target-firing from one of the 
forts. They first boarded the monitor Perun, Captain 
Karpoff. The Americans were much gratified at the ap¬ 
pearance of the ship and her accessories, and at the alac¬ 
rity with which she was cleared for action when the drums 
beat to quarters. Thence the party went on the imperial 
yacht Alexandria to the greater roadstead, wdiere the 
Russian squadron lay at anchor, and visited the great 
iron-clad battery, USTe Tronne Menia, which also cleared 
for action and fired her guns. The artillery practice 
showed the perfection of drill and discipline, and the 
Emperor was so pleased with the result that he ex¬ 
pressed his satisfaction to Rear-Admiral Likhatcheff and 
to the captains of the Re Tronne Menia and the Perun, 
and ordered a gratuity of money to be distributed among 
the crews. 

The Americans had the honor of lunching with the 
Emperor on board his yacht. During the repast, his 
Majesty offered the following sentiment: “ I drink to the 
prosperity of your country, and that the fraternal feelings 
which now exist may continue forever.” 

At two o’clock the Alexandria touched at the landing 
of Fort Paul, when the Emperor, his suite, and his guests, 
entered the fortress, and took a position on the upper para¬ 
pet. The signal was given for the gun-practice to begin, 
by lowering the Emperor’s flag on the yacht. Fort Paul 
immediately hoisted the red flag, and fired the first shot¬ 
ted gun at the target, when Fort Alexander also opened 
fire. The practice lasted about twenty minutes, and the 
two targets were riddled with numerous holes. The 


100 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


Emperor expressed much pleasure witli the way in which 
the artillery was handled, and with the efficiency of the 
steel guns. The experiments were made under very fa¬ 
vorable circumstances, the day being fine and clear, and 
the sea calm. 

After the close of the single-gun practice, the steamer 
Yermoloff towed out from the port a large floating target 
to a distance of about three hundred yards, and retired 
out of range by paying out the cable. Fort Paul then 
opened fire on this new mark in general discharges. The 
port-holes were closed, then, on a given signal, the towing 
was stopped, the ports thrown open, and the guns sighted 
and fired. After each discharge the steamer towed the 
target into a new position, so as to represent the move¬ 
ments of a ship. 

At four o’clock the firing ceased, and the imperial 
party again took passage on the Alexandria. When 
off Fort Mentchikoff, the square imperial standard was 
hoisted on the yacht. When this flag is raised, a salute 
is fired from every gun in sight, both on land and sea. 
Accordingly, the forts and all the ships opened their bat¬ 
teries at the signal, a truly imperial close to the festivities 
of the day. The Alexandria then returned to Peterhof, 
whence Mr. Fox and party were sent in a steam-yacht to 
Cronstadt. 

At five o’clock of the same day a grand dinner was 
given to the mission and to the American officers by the 
members of the Cronstadt Naval Club. 

The cards of invitation read as follows : 


THE NAVAL BANQUET. 


101 


“ Naval Club, Cronstadt. 

u Sm: On the occasion of the arrival of the United 
States squadron in these waters, the members of the 
Cronstadt ISTaval Club, wishing to express the sentiments 
of friendship which they bear toward the citizens of the 
United States, as well as to show their appreciation of the 
warmth and heartiness of the reception accorded to the 
Russian fleets in the cities of New York, Washington, 
Boston, and San Francisco, have the honor to invite you, 
in the name of the whole Russian fleet, to a dinner, ar¬ 
ranged to take place at five o’clock on Thursday next, 
July 28th (August 9th) at the Naval Club House. 

“ For the Directors : A. Aslanbegoff.” 

The two steamers Ijora and Koldounchik were put 
at the service of the American guests, and, on their ar¬ 
rival at the pier, carriages were ready to convey them to 
the banquet-hall. A great crowd had assembled in front 
of the Naval Club House to see the visitors as they en¬ 
tered. As the carriages drove up, they were received 
with cheers and greeted with the inspiriting strains of 
“Hail Columbia” from the splendid naval band sta¬ 
tioned at the entrance. A committee of naval officers, 
with whom the Americans had already become acquainted 
at the breakfast at the club on the 7th, received them at 
the door, and conducted them, arm-in-arm, to the private 
dining-room, where were tables elegantly laid with an ap¬ 
petizing “ zakuska,” 1 and provided with both Russian 

1 In Russia various relishes or hors-d'oeuvres and several kinds of drinks 
are served to guests before dinner. This is called “ zakuska,” and consists 


102 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


and American drinks. After partaking of the refresh¬ 
ments, hosts and guests adjourned to the grand saloon of 
the club, where the dinner was served. 

On entering the hall, the sight was magnificent. The 
walls, hung with pictures, flags, and banners, with gar¬ 
lands and wreaths of evergreens; pedestals and niches 
filled with busts, and with pots of shrubs and rare exotics ; 
the long ranges of tables gleaming with silver and glass, 
and decorated with flowers ; the splendid chandeliers and 
the hundreds of wax-tapers shedding a brilliant yet soft 
light over all, gave the scene an air of enchantment, 
which was heightened by the music of the bands. 

One of the most prominent and most tasteful of the 
decorations was a shield on one of the walls, bearing upon 
a ground of red cloth the portraits of Washington, Lin¬ 
coln, and Johnson, encircled with wreaths of flowers and 
of leaves. The portrait of his Majesty the Emperor, 
alike adorned with drapery and with garlands, occupied 
the opposite wall. The Russian and the American en¬ 
signs, intertwined and wreathed, were displayed every¬ 
where. The state staircase was brilliantly ornamented 
with lamps, candelabra, and pots of flowers. Opposite the 
entrance, amid shrubs and exotics, were placed upon pe¬ 
destals the busts of Peter the Great and of Alexander II. 

* 

Two splendid bands occupied the galleries opposite each 
other, one the orchestra of Ladoff, from St. Petersburg, 
the other the port band of Cronstadt. The musicians 
were crowded close to the front by the ladies, who filled 

usually of caviar, smoked salmon, herring, olives, pickles, etc., with such 
drinks as anisette, kiimmel, and other cordials. 


THE NAVAL BANQUET. 


103 


all the space behind them, anxious to witness the brilliant 
scene below. The bands played alternately, giving the 
national airs of the tw r o countries and the most popular 
selections from the operas. The a Komissaroff March ” 
was also performed during the evening. 

The tables were splendidly served. Beside each plate 
was a hill of fare, printed on heavy card-board, fourteen 
by nine inches in size, ornamented with beautiful and ar¬ 
tistic designs. At the top was a vignette representing 
the port of Cronstadt, w T ith one of the forts on the right, 
shipping on the left, and the Miantonomoh passing in the 
foreground. In a circle above was “ 1866,” and beneath, 
“ Miantonomoh’s Arrival at Cronstadt.” Surrounding the 
vignette was a chain-cable, which hung below it, support¬ 
ing a shield on which was the bill of fare. On each side of 
the vignette was the coil of a hempen cable, in which were 
the names of distinguished men of each country. In the 
left coil were “ 862,” the year of the foundation of the 
Russian Empire, and the names of “ "Vladimir Ravnoa- 
postolnoy, 1 2 * Dmitry Donskoy, 8 Peter the Great, Alexander 
II. ; ” in the right, “ 1492,” the date of America’s dis¬ 
covery, and “ Columbus, Washington, Fulton, Lincoln.” 
On the sides, beneath the coils, was a sailor of each na¬ 
tion, standing on a ship’s yard, each holding the flag of 
his country, the two ensigns being crossed beneath the 


1 Vladimir the Apostle, the ruler of all Russia from a. d. 980 to 1015, 
when he died. In 988 he married the sister of the Emperor of Constanti¬ 
nople, and was baptized in the Greek Church on his wedding-day. The fol¬ 
lowing year he ordered the introduction of Christianity into his dominions. 

2 Dmitry IV., who defeated the Mongols, in 1380, at the battle of Kuli- 

koff, on the banks of the Don (hence his surname Donskoy, of the Don). 


104 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


vignette. On loops of ribbon were the names, glorious 
in naval history, of Gangudd, Tchesma, Revel, ISTavarino, 
Sinope, Sevastopol, Lake Erie, Plattsburg Bay, Hew Or¬ 
leans, Charleston, Mobile, Fort Fisher. 

Gangudd, or Gangout (Hangoud, Hango Udde, Han- 
go Head), is a promontory on the north coast of the Gulf 
of Finland, near its entrance. Peter the Great, acting as 
schaubenacht (commodore) of the fleet commanded by Ad¬ 
miral Apraxine, attacked,with a number of galleys, a Swed¬ 
ish fleet stronger than his own, July 28, 1714, and defeat¬ 
ed it. The Swedes, under the command of Rear-Admiral 
Ehrenschield, lost nine hundred and thirty-six men in the 
engagement, five hundred and seventy-seven of whom 
were made prisoners, among the latter being the com¬ 
mander himself. The Russians captured one frigate of 
twenty guns, six galleys of fourteen guns each, and three 
smaller vessels of four guns each. For this gallant action, 
Peter the Great was advanced by the Senate to the rank 
of rear-admiral. 

Tchesma, or Tchesme, is a village of Anatolia, Asia 
Minor, opposite the island of Scio, and about forty miles 
west-soutliwest of Smyrna. In 1770, a Russian squadron, 
under the orders of the celebrated Count Alexis Orloff 
and of Admiral Spiridioff, attacked, with fire-ships, and 
totally destroyed, the Turkish fleet, which had sought 
refuge in the bay. Rear-Admiral Greig, the grand¬ 
father of Aide-de-camp-General Greig, greatly distin¬ 
guished himself in this action. 

Revel, a seaport-town of Esthonia, in a large bay on 
the south side of the Gulf of Finland, was captured by 


THE NAVAL BANQUET. 


105 


the Russians, under Peter the Great, from the Swedes, in 
1710. In the reign of Catherine II., a fleet commanded 
by the Crown-Prince of Sweden attacked the Russian 
fleet in the bay, and was totally defeated. A fine paint¬ 
ing of this brilliant action hangs in the Navy Club at 
Cronstadt. 

Navarino, Sinope, and Sevastopol, names glorious in 
Russian annals, are too well known to need description. 

The menu was as follows, being printed in both Rus¬ 
sian and English : 

Sterlet-soup (Ucha). 

Printanier. 

Koulebiaka. 

Bouchees & la Reine. 

Rissolles. 

Timballes & la chasseur. 

Roast-beef. 

Gatchina trout, with fresh butter. 

Chicken, minced it la d’Orleans. 

Snipe, stuffed with truffles. 

Punch, it la Victoria. 

Cauliflower. 

Artichokes & la Lyonnaise. 

Peas it l’Anglaise. 

Young capons. 

Grouse. 

Quail, wood-hen. 

Salad. 

Pruit-cake it la Portugaise. 

Ices. 

Fruits, bonbons. 

Tea, coffee. 


Beneath the shield, on which was the bill of fare, was 
a scroll containing the programme of the music played by 
the two bands during the evening. It was as follows : 


\ 


106 FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


1. 
1 . 
II. 

2 . 
nr. 

3. 
IV. 

4. 
V. 

5. 
VI. 

6 . 
VII. 

1 . 


March (Op. Life for the Czar) . 

| Komissaroff March .... 

i 

Overture (Op. Martha) 

Potpourri, Italian Opera 
Dagmar Waltz .... 

Potpourri, Ballet, Daughter of Pharaoh 
Potpourri, Op. Masquerade 
Potpourri, Ballet, Kaniok Gorbounok . 
Bohemian Songs .... 

Polka. 

Kamarenskaya .... 

Potpourri, Russian Song 
Yankee Doodle .... 

Galop. 


Glinka, 

Schubert. 

Flotoff. 

Metsdorff. 

Ladoff. 

Funny. 

Verdi. 

Funny. 

Ladoff. 

Strauss. 

Glinka. 

Derfelt. 

Schulhoff. 


Besides Mr. Fox and his secretaries, Messrs. Green 
and Loubat, there were present at this dinner the United 
States minister, Mr. Clay, the Secretary of Legation, Mr. 
Curtin, Commanders Murray and Beaumont, and all the 
officers of the Miantonomoh and Augusta who could be 
spared from duty. 

Among the distinguished Russian naval officers pres¬ 
ent were Yice-Admiral Crabbe, aide - de - camp - general 
of the Emperor and Minister of the Navy ; Admiral 
Novossilsky, aide-de-camp-general of the Emperor, Gov- 
ernor : General of Cronstadt, and commandant-in-chief 
of the port of Cronstadt; Rear-Admiral Lessovsky, 
of the suite of the Emperor, vice-commandant of the 
port of Cronstadt, and commandant of the Russian fleet 
in America in 1863; Lieutenant-General Greig, Assistant 
Minister of Finances ; Rear-Admiral Popoff, of the suite 
of the Emperor; Rear-Admiral Galitzine, of the suite of 
the Emperor ; Yice-Admiral Choulepnikoff, commandant 
of the fortress of Cronstadt; Yice-Admiral Zelenoy, chief 






ADMIRAL CRABBE. 


107 


of the Hydrographical Bureau and president of the Scien¬ 
tific Committee of the Navy Department; Major-General 
Zelenoy, commander of the school of pilots; Major-Gen¬ 
eral Tiesenhausen, of the engineers, under whose direc¬ 
tions the new docks of Cronstadt are building; Captain 
Vsevolojsky, port-captain of Cronstadt; Colonel Pes- 
titcli, commandant of the naval artillery of Cronstadt; 
and many others. 

Four of these gentlemen, Admirals Crabbe, Novos- 
silsky, Lessovsky, and PopofF, are well known to Ameri¬ 
cans, a part through their intimate relations with the mis¬ 
sion while in Russia, and the two latter through their 
memorable visits to this country. 

Admiral Crabbe won distinction first in the Black 
Sea. "When lieutenant in command of a gunboat during 
a landing made by the Russian fleet on the coast of Cir¬ 
cassia (Tcherkessia), he attacked the enemy in flank and 
routed him, which greatly facilitated operations in that 
quarter. On account of this important service, General 
Raevsky, the commander-in-chief of the west coast of 
Circassia, put him on his staff. After distinguishing him¬ 
self further in several engagements with the same foe, 
Lieutenant Crabbe was sent to the Baltic, where Prince 
Mentchikoff appointed him his aide-de-camp. In this 
position Captain Crabbe served through the Crimean 
War, and for his gallantry was named aide-de-camp to 
the Emperor. He soon became admiral and director of 
the inspection-bureau of the department of the navy, and 
afterward, through the regular grades, aide-de-camp-gen- 
eral to the Emperor and Minister of the Navy. 


108 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


Admiral Crabbe succeeded to the charge of the navy 
at a difficult period in Russian history. After the Cri¬ 
mean War great reforms became necessary. A fleet of 
steamers was about organizing when the Polish insurrec¬ 
tion broke out, and diplomatic troubles arose with Eng¬ 
land and France which threatened Russia with a new 
foreign war. There were no iron-clads in the navy, the 
imperial dock-yards were not prepared to build vessels 
of the new models, and private resources were limited. 
But the times were urgent, and a nav} 7 had to be con¬ 
structed on a wholly new plan. Admiral Crabbe proved 
to be equal to the difficult task. In 1862, ’63, and ’64, 
under the auspices of the Grand-duke Constantine, he 
created an iron-clad fleet, consisting of two frigates, the 
Sevastopol and the Petropaulovsk; three batteries, the 
Perventez, the Ne Tronne Menia, and the Kremlin ; ten 
single-turreted monitors and a double-turreted gunboat, 
the Smertch; and, in the mean time, immense works 
were executed in the imperial navy-yards. Private en¬ 
terprise received a great impetus, and Admiral Crabbe, 
animated by the patriotic desire of freeing Russia from 
foreign vassalage, encouraged and aided Russian naval 
contractors. With the resources of the navy depart¬ 
ment at his disposal, he caused to be built the works 
cf Mr. Abukkoff, where steel rifled guns of twelve-inch 
calibre are now made. Since his administration the rule 
has been adopted that all ships and machinery shall be 
made in the imperial navy-yards, or, if given to private 
enterprise, that the contractor shall employ none but Rus¬ 
sian workmen, and use none but Russian material. 





AJOMJC 













ADMIRAL N0VOSSILSKY. 


109 


Admiral Novossilsky came into prominence in the war 
with Turkey in 1828, by aiding in the gallant defence of 
the brig Mercur (Mercury), of which he was second in com¬ 
mand, in the Black Sea. One morning, on the rising of 
a dense fog, the Russians were surprised at finding their 
vessel between two Turkish men-of-w T ar. The command¬ 
er, Captain Kazarsky, was equal to the situation. He de¬ 
termined to die rather than surrender his ship, and it was 
agreed by the officers that, if it became necessary, the 
last survivor should blowup the magazine with his pistol. 
Inspired by their heroism, the crew fought desperately, 
and the brig was extricated from her perilous position. 
In remembrance of their bravery, the Emperor authorized 
each of the officers to emblazon a pistol in his coat-of- 
artns. Admiral Novossilsky is now the sole survivor of 
the gallant band. 

In the battle of Sinope, Admiral Novossilsky was 
rear-admiral and second in command of the Russian fleet. 
On account of that ever-memorable action, he was pro¬ 
moted to vice-admiral, and made a Commander of the 
Order of St. George, one of the highest honors in Russia, 
being given only for the most distinguished military ser¬ 
vice. During the siege of Sevastopol he commanded 
Bastion Ho. 4, called by the French the Bastion of Death 
(Bastion de la Mort). 

Admiral Lessovsky, now (1873) vice-admiral and 
aide-de-camp-general, is a sailor of whom Russia may 
well be proud. The true type of a naval officer of our 
times, he knows but one motto—“ Duty and honor.” 
After graduation at the Naval Academy at St. Peters- 


110 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


burg, lie was ordered to the Black Sea, where he soon 
became conspicuous. In 1853 Captain Lessovsky was 
sent on a special mission to Japan in the frigate Aurora. 
Having fulfilled his duties, he was preparing to leave 
when an earthquake occurred, followed by a typhoon 
which blew his ship ashore in the Bay of Simoda. 
Through his indefatigable exertions and presence of 
mind, his crew were all saved. Unwilling to remain 
inactive in Japan, when the war with the allied powers 
was raging, he built a cutter with the aid of his men 
alone, and put to sea in her. He navigated the little 
craft safely through the enemy’s cruisers to the Amoor 
River, the entrance of which was intrusted to him to 
defend. With limited resources at command, he erected 
fortifications so strong that the enemy’s vessels were kept 
in check during the entire war. 

At the close of the conflict, Captain Lessovsky was 
made captain of the port of Cronstadt. In 1863, as rear- 
admiral, he commanded the fleet which visited this coun¬ 
try, and did so much to strengthen the bonds between 
the two nations. On his return, he was promoted to the 
suite of the Emperor. In 1865, the Mediterranean fleet 
under his command performed the sad duty of carrying 
home to Russia, on the Alexander Nevsky, the mortal 
remains of the ever-to-be-regretted Cezarevitch Nicholas 
Alexandrovitch. In 1866 Admiral Lessovsky was made 
assistant to Admiral Novossilsky, governor-general and 
commander-in-chief of the port of Cronstadt. The fol¬ 
lowing year he succeeded to this important position. He 
soon became vice-admiral and aide-de-camp-general to 


ADMIRAL POPOFF. 


Ill 

the Emperor, and in 1872 was made assistant-minister 
of the Navy. 

Rear-Admiral Popoff distinguished himself greatly 
in the Black Sea, in 1854-’55. When the allied fleets 
came in sight of Sevastopol, he went out from under 
the forts on the steamer Tamane, and spent a night 
in the midst of the enemy’s ships. He was discovered 
and pursued, but succeeded in escaping to Odessa, where 
he carried the first news of the landing of the allies in 
the Cripiea. While the Russian fleet was blockaded 
in Sevastopol, he made frequent sorties, and burned 
several vessels near Constantinople and in sight of 
Varna. During the siege he had charge of the difficult 
duty of supplying the ports and batteries with material. 
At the close of the war he was made aide-de-camp of the 
Emperor. He was twice in command of the Russian 
fleet in the Pacific, in 1858 and in 1863, in both of which 
years he visited San Francisco, and left such everlasting 
souvenirs. At present there is constructing at Cronstadt, 
from the plans and entirely new ideas of Aide-de-Camp- 
General and Vice-Admiral Popoff, the most powerful 
armored vessel in the world, a double-turreted monitor, 
to which the Emperor has given the illustrious name of 
Peter the Great; and in the Black Sea are building two 
iron-clads of peculiar form, on new principles of his inven¬ 
tion. 

Besides those connected with the navy, there were 
present many noted officials belonging to other depart¬ 
ments of the Government. Among them were Prince 
Gagarine, privy-councillor and president of the Council 


112 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


of Ministers ; Lieutenant-General Count Schuvaloff, 
aide-de-camp-general of the Emperor, and chief of the 
third section (gendarmerie) of the privy cabinet of the 
Emperor; Lieutenant-General Todtleben, aide-de-camp- 
general of the Emperor, and director-general of engi¬ 
neers ; Lieutenant-General Zelenoy, aide-de-camp-general 
of the Emperor, Minister of the Demesnes; Count Tol¬ 
stoy, privy-councillor, Minister of Public Instruction; 
Mr. de Reutern, privy-councillor, Minister of Finances; 
and Mr. Tatarinoff, privy-councillor, and Comptroller- 
General of the Empire. Prince Gortchakotf was pre¬ 
vented from attending, by illness. 

The city of Cronstadt was represented by the mayor, 
Mr. Stephanoff; Messrs. Koudriavtzoff and Nikitine, 
members of the municipality; the honorary citizen, Mr. 
Baikoff; and the distinguished merchants, Messrs. Blinoff, 
Vassilieff, Mourachetf, Ossetroff, and Taiessoif. There 
were in all about four hundred and fifty guests. 

The dinner passed off in the most brilliant manner. 
After the several courses, sentiments were offered and 
responses made by a number of the principal gentlemen, 
which were received with enthusiasm. Admiral Lessov- 
sky acted as interpreter, translating into Russian the Eng¬ 
lish speeches, and the Russian into English. The first 
toast was to the Emperor, after which Mr. Fox made a 
brief but telling speech, which elicited great applause. 
He spoke of the friendliness existing between Russia and 
America, which dated from the armed neutrality of Cath¬ 
erine II., and of the indebtedness of our country to Alex¬ 
ander II., who, in the darkest hour of our trials, when the 


THE NAVAL BANQUET. 


113 


other sovereigns of Europe stood aloof, sent us words of 
sympathy, which had united the two nations in friendship 
forever. 

Toasts followed to the Grand-duke Constantine ; to 
“ Our Teachers, the Americans; ” to the Russian Navy; 
to Commanders Murray, Beaumont, and the officers of 
their ships; to General Todtleben, by Commodore Mur¬ 
ray ; and by the gallant general himself, to “ The De¬ 
fenders of Sevastopol and the Conquerors of Sinope.” 

After the toasts were ended, many of the older officers 
retired, when the room was cleared. The scene then be¬ 
came very lively. All the American guests were treated 
to a peculiarly Russian custom—a tossing in the air at v/ 
the hands of their hosts. The sensation is any thing but 
an agreeable one, but, as it is considered a mark of honor 
of the highest character, it was submitted to with a good 
grace by all who were subjected to it. 

This dinner, the first of the many given to the mission, 
was heartily enjoyed by all the Americans. The kindly 
and cordial reception by the gentlemen of the Imperial 
Navy, the magnificence of the entertainment, the warmth 
and sincerity that characterized the speeches, left an im¬ 
pression that time cannot efface. Unfortunately, no re¬ 
port was made, at the time, of the speeches and toasts, 
and the description of the dinner is necessarily a brief 
one. 

The Russian navy has made a great advance of late 
years, both in the character of its shipping and of its per¬ 
sonnel. It now (1873) comprises among its vessels three 

iron-clad frigates, five turreted frigates, three iron-clad 
8 


114 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


batteries, ten single-turreted monitors, three iron-clad 
gunboats, and probably the most powerful ship afloat, the 
double-turreted monitor, Peter the Great. These vessels 
are armed with fifteen-inch and twenty-inch Rodman 
smooth-bore guns, and with cast-steel rifles of eight-inch, 
nine-inch, and twelve-inch calibre. There are also two 
large steam sloops-of-war, the Alexander Nevsky, and the 
General Admiral, half wood and half iron-clad, built from 
plans of Admiral Popotf, each carrying eight rifled guns 
of the largest calibre, which are intended to be used as 
fast cruisers, in case of war, to destroy an enemy’s ship¬ 
ping. The officers and crews on all the ships are picked 
men. The former are thoroughly instructed in naval 
science, and are animated by an esprit de corps which 
would make them dangerous adversaries to contend with. 
The sailors are well drilled, as all can testify who saw 
how easily the ships of Admirals Lessovsky and Popoff 
were worked and manoeuvred w T hen in this country. 


CHAPTER VII. 


CRONSTlDT-THE ARSENAL—THE STEAMSHIP-WORKS-TnE 

MUNICIPAL BANQUET. 

J^UGUST 10 th {July 29tk ).—This morning Mr. Fox, 
accompanied by liis secretaries, Messrs. Green and 
Loubat, visited the Vladimir and the Dmitry Donskoy, to 
return the calls of Admirals Likhatcheff and Butakoff. 
He was received on each vessel with a salute of seventeen 
guns, the American ensign being hoisted to the fore. 
The Augusta acknowledged the compliment with a simi¬ 
lar salute, and the Russian ensign at the fore. 

At half-past twelve o’clock a deputation of Russian 
officers met the officers of the American squadron at the 
Petrovsky landing, and escorted them to the arsenal, 
where they were received by Colonel Pestitch, command¬ 
ant of artillery at Cronstadt. He showed them much 
politeness, and called their attention to the various ob¬ 
jects of interest preserved in this great collection of arms 
and trophies. Our officers were particularly struck by 
the many captured battle-flags, the glorious records of 
Russia’s naval prowess, and by the collection of models 
of Russian men-of-war. The latter, which occupy a 


116 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


special chamber, constitute an almost complete history 
of Russian naval architecture. A plan of Cronstadt, its 
environs and fortifications, executed in relief with the 
most minute care and artistic finish, was examined also 
with great interest. 

From the arsenal the party went to the summer-house 
of the Navy Club, where a lunch awaited them. Here 
they were joined by deputations from the Club of the 
Nobility and from the Merchants’ Mutual Aid Society, 
who had come with invitations to banquets at their re¬ 
spective clubs. After lunch, they visited the steamship 
workshops, then in full operation, where they were most 
cordially received by the director, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Sokalolf, who showed them through the establishment. 
The works are remarkable for their extent, for their ad¬ 
mirable mechanical appliances, and for the order and sys¬ 
tem everywhere displayed. They would be a credit to 
any country. 

Colonel SokalofF having put a steamer at the disposal 
of the party, the landing-place of the new docks was next 
visited. After examining the works there, remarkable 
for their gigantic dimensions, they returned to the steam¬ 
boat-shops, and went thence to the Naval Observatory, 
where they arrived about four o’clock. The hour inter¬ 
vening between this and the time of the municipal din¬ 
ner, to which they were invited at five o’clock, was spent 
in examining the observatory, and in resting after their 
long walk. 

At five o’clock, carriages called for the officers at the 
observatory, and conveyed them to the City Hall, where 


THE CRONSTADT DINNER. 


117 


the banquet given in their honor by the civil authorities 
of Cronstadt was to take place. The municipality of the 
city is entirely distinct from the government officials, be¬ 
ing elected by the people, as in the United States. 

The invitations to this dinner were as follows : 

“ Sir : The Mayor of Cronstadt, in the name of the 
municipal corporation, requests the favor of your com¬ 
pany to dinner, on Friday next, July 29th (August 10th), 
at the Town Hall, five p. m. 

“ July 26, 1866.” 

Gospodskaia Street, in which is situated the Town 
Hall, was literally obstructed by crowds of people, who 
had flocked in from all directions to see the strangers, and 
it was with no little difficulty that the carriages made 
their way to the entrance. Our officers were welcomed 
at the door with “ Hail Columbia ” from a military band, 
and with loud and repeated cheers from the multitude. 

The steps and the great staircase were covered with 
rich carpets, and the halls were decorated with flowers 
and garlands, and hung with the Russian and American 
colors. On the walls of the reception-hall were the por¬ 
traits of Alexander II., of Washington, Lincoln, and 
Johnson, and of Komissaroff-Kostromsky, all wreathed 
with flowers and greens. 

At the entrance of Mr. Fox and the American officers, 
they were received with a cordial welcome by the officers 
of the feast. The presence of Komissaroff-Kostromsky, 
the savior of the Emperor’s life, was particularly gratify¬ 
ing to them, and those who had not yet been presented 


118 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


to him sought an introduction. The young man ap¬ 
peared to be much affected by the attentions showered 
upon him. 

At half-past five the invited guests marched, to the 
sound of music, to the grand dining-room, each American 
walking arm-in-arm with one of the managers of the 
banquet. The dinner was admirably served, and the 
floral decorations and ornaments were unexcelled. The 
place of each guest had been marked in advance, the 
seats being so distributed as to place next to each Ameri¬ 
can a Russian who could speak English. Beside each 
plate was the card of the dinner and the programme of 
the music to he played. 

The bill of fare was a fine work of art, printed in gold 
on sheets of glazed Bristol hoard, twelve by nine inches 
in size. At the top, between the Russian mercantile and 
the American flags, were two clasped hands, surrounded 
by a wreath of oak-leaves. Directly beneath were “ 1866 ” 
and “ Dinner, July 29.” On the sides were broadsides 
of men-of-war, with anchors, cables, and other naval 
paraphernalia ; and, on the bottom, the arms of the city 
of Cronstadt, with Mercury, the protector of commerce, 
and Neptune, the ruler of the seas, on each side, as sup¬ 
porters. 

The arms of Cronstadt are worthy of a passing note. 
They are azure and gules j per pale ; in the first, a light¬ 
house, argent; in the second, a kettle, sable, on an island, 
vert. It is said that Peter the Great, at the time of the 
founding of Cronstadt, picked up a broken iron kettle on 
the island, where it had been left, probably, by fisher- 


THE CRONSTADT DINNER. 


119 


men ; and, in commemoration of the circumstance, gave 
it to the new city for its arms. 

The menu of the dinner, which was furnished by the 
celebrated restaurateur of St. Petersburg, Dusaux, was as 
follows: 


Soups. i 


Fres'h-cabbage soup. 
Crawfish-soup. 

Printanier. 

Turtle-soup (i\ la Franchise). 


Pies. - 


Bouchees & la Reine. 
Rissoli. 

Timballes 4 la Monglas. 


Fish-pies. 


Filets de boeuf and veal, with vegetables. 

Sterlets a la Russe and river-trout. 

Woodcock with truffles. 

Punch & la Romaine. 

Vegetables : peas, cauliflowers, and beans. 

Roasts : Bohemian pheasants, great snipe, chicken, grouse, partridges. 

Salad. 

Fruit pudding k la Nelson. 

Ices of different descriptions. 

Fruits. 

Confectionery. 

Coffee. 

Yellow tea. 


During the dinner delightful music was furnished by 
two bands, the orchestra led by LadofF, of St. Petersburg, 
and the port band of Cronstadt. Besides the national 
airs of Russia and of America, and selections from Italian 
operas, were performed the “ Columbia Quadrilles,” com¬ 
posed for the occasion by the chief-of-orchestra Rein- 
boldt. 

About one hundred and fifty guests sat down at the 





120 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


tables. Among the distinguished persons present, in ad¬ 
dition to tlie city officials and their American guests, 
were Mr. Lilienfeld, president of the regency of the dis¬ 
trict of Peterhof ; Mr. Atriganieff, marshal of the nobles 
of the district of Peterhof; Admiral Hovossilsky, the mil¬ 
itary governor of Cronstadt ; Pear-Admirals Lessovsky 
and Popoff; the chief of staff of the commander-in-cliief 
of the port of Cronstadt; and all the authorities of Cron¬ 
stadt, both of land and sea. 

When the champagne was brought on, the Mayor of 
Cronstadt, Mr. Philip Stephanoff, gave the first toast to 
the health of the Emperor, accompanying it with the fol¬ 
lowing words : 

“ This day is to us a fete-day. We see among us 
guests who are dear to us, who have come from across 
the ocean with congratulations for the happy safety of the 
precious life of the Emperor, the liberator; and I propose 
to them to give with us a toast to the ‘ Health and long 
life of our Sovereign.’ ” (Hurrah !) 

This toast, which was given in the Pussian language, 
was translated into English by Admiral Lessovsky, who 
also translated the English toasts and speeches into Pus¬ 
sian. 

The mayor’s loyal sentiment w r as received with loud 
and enthusiastic cheers, which were mingled with the 
solemn strains of the Pussian national hymn. 

Mayor Stephanoff then gave the “ Health of the Presi¬ 
dent of the United States,” which was greeted with accla¬ 
mations no less enthusiastic and prolonged. 


THE CRONSTADT DINNER. 


121 


When the cheering had subsided, Mr. Fox responded 
as follows: 

“ Gentlemen, I desire to propose to you the health of 
an exalted person, w T hose preeminent virtues have awak¬ 
ened our profound admiration ; an admiration not de¬ 
pendent on political creeds, nor international relations, 
but founded on the principles of our mutual Christian 
faith, and, like them, imperishable—her Imperial Majesty 
the Empress.” 

This sentiment created the liveliest satisfaction, exhib¬ 
ited by repeated bravos. 

At their termination Mr. Baikoff gave the u Health of 
the Cezarevitch and of all the Imperial Family,” which 
elicited another outburst of cheers. 

The mayor then gave the “ Health of the Hon. G. 
V. Fox, the Envoy of the American Congress,” which was 
received with the most enthusiastic applause. 

Mr. Nikitine then arose to speak : 

“ We, the citizens of Cronstadt,” he said, “ seize this 
opportunity to offer to the honorable representative of a 
great and glorious nation, Mr. Fox, our sincere and 
cordial congratulations for the sympathy and friend¬ 
ship shown by the American for the Russian people, on 
the occasion of the 4th of April, so feelingly expressed 
in the Resolution of the Congress of the United States 
of America. This sympathy is precious to Russians. 
The citizens of America, in the persons of their repre¬ 
sentatives here with us to-day, share in the joy of our 
entire people for the safety of the life of our beloved sov¬ 
ereign ; and it is therefore, gentlemen, that I propose a 


122 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


toast to the guests of to-day’s banquet, to the ‘ Citizens of 
the great American Republic.’ ” (Hurrah!) 

After the cheering had subsided, Mr. Baikoff gave the 
“Health of General Clay, Minister Plenipotentiary of the 
United States of America to the Court of Russia.” 

Mr. Clay responded: 

“ As representing the Republic of the United States 
of America, I am, of course, a republican; and it would 
be difficult to find on either side of the ocean a more 
fervent republican than I am; but, after living in a 
country which possesses a monarchical form of govern¬ 
ment, I am convinced that monarchy may be the best 
form of government, when at its head is found a man the 
best and most virtuous of earth. My honorable triend, 
Mr. Fox, a sincere democrat also, will not fail to be alike 
convinced when he has lived some time longer in Russia; 
and this is why I think it my duty to propose a toast to 
the whole of Russia: ‘ To the Russian Government, to 
the Russian Navy, to the Russian Army, and to all the 
Citizens of Russia! ’ ” 

Loud and prolonged applause followed this speech, 
after which the mayor gave the “ Health of Commanders 
Murray and Beaumont, and of the Officers of the Ameri¬ 
can Squadron,” which was duly acknowledged by Com¬ 
mander Murray. 

Toasts to the “ Health of the Commander-in-Chief of 
the Port of Cronstadt,” and to “ The Mayor of the City,” 
followed; the first by the mayor, the second by Admiral 
Novossilsky. All the toasts were received with applause. 

Mr. Nikitine then proposed the health of a person 


THE CRONSTADT DINNER. 


123 


dear to all Russians—of “ Komissaroff-Kostromsky.” Rus¬ 
sians and Americans arose and touched glasses with him. 
The cheers within the hall were echoed by the crowd in 
the street until it seemed as if the hurrahs would never 
cease. Komissaroif was visibly affected by the enthu¬ 
siasm with which his name was received. 

Mr. Nikitine then spoke as follows : 

“ Among the reforms of the present reign, one of the 
greatest is that of local self-government, which summons 
our country to an independent intellectual activity ; and 
I therefore propose a toast to the 4 Success of Provincial 
Administration in Russia,’ and I join with it the names 
of the honorable gentlemen of the Assembly of Peterhof 
now present with us, Messrs. Lilienfeld and Atriganieff.” 
(Cheers.) 

Mr. Lilienfeld responded by a long and eloquent 
speech, showing the great importance of Cronstadt, 
which, surrounded with fortresses of granite, and de¬ 
fended by impenetrable monitors, is the bulwark of the 
empire. He closed with the wish that nothing in Russia 
might prove an obstacle to the great and benevolent re¬ 
forms which open for her a new era, an era of equitable 
and independent justice, an era of social and national de¬ 
velopment. 

Prolonged hurrahs followed Mr. Lilienfeld’s remarks, 
after which Mr. Mouracheff proposed a toast to the “ In¬ 
dissoluble Friendship of Russia and the United States of 
America.” (Loud cheers.) 

Mr. Curtin, the secretary of the American Legation, 


124 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


then spoke in the Russian language, which he had learned 
to use with fluency during his residence in St. Petersburg. 
He said: 

“ When Peter the Great had opened a window look¬ 
ing toward Europe, he founded Cronstadt, and created 
there a military fleet to be the guardian of that window. 
The fleet of the Baltic has fulfilled sacredly the duty 
which the great reformer of Russia bequeathed to it. For 
more than a century have Cronstadt and her fleet jealous¬ 
ly guarded their sacred post, and none of the many ene¬ 
mies that have attacked Russia have been able to close 
that window, and I am fully persuaded that no one in the 
future will be able to close it. I therefore beg leave, gen¬ 
tlemen, to propose a toast to the ‘ City and Fortress of 
Cronstadt, to the Russian sailors in general, and to all the 
present inhabitants of Cronstadt.’ ” 

Mr. Curtin’s speech in the Russian tongue, and his 
happy allusion to a verse of Pushkin’s, one of Russia’s 
most popular poets, that Peter the Great had opened a 
window into Europe, created a tremendous burst of ap¬ 
plause, loud and prolonged. 

A toast given by Mayor Stephanotf, to Admiral Les- 
sovsky and the Russian officers and sailors who were with 
him in the United States, was also greeted with cheers. 

Other toasts given toward the end of the dinner were 
to the prosperity of commerce between Russia and the 
United States; to Mr. de Stoeckl, the Russian minister 
at Washington, by the Hon. Mr. Fox ; to the people, 
to the army and the navy of the United States; to the 
statesmen and public men of Russia; and, lastly, to the 


THE CRONSTADT DINNER. 


125 


American and the Russian ladies, by Commander Beau¬ 
mont. 

After dinner the guests retired to the reception-rooms, 
and enjoyed an animated conversation while they took 
their tea and coffee. In one of the rooms punch was pre¬ 
paring in the Russian style. It is made of rum, sugar, 
fruits, etc., set on fire, and, after burning for some time, is 
quenched with champagne. The Americans, attracted by 
the blue flames, gathered around the table on which stood 
the silver bowl. This was the signal for more speeches, 
all of which were greeted with the heartiest applause. 

When all the ceremonies were concluded, a large num¬ 
ber of ladies, belonging to the families of the gentlemen 
present, came into the hall. On their appearance, one of 
our officers proposed the health of the Russian ladies, ac¬ 
companying the toast with a few words in praise of the 
beauty and courtesy of the fair citizens of Cronstadt. In 
response to this act of gallantry, a Russian gentleman 
made a speech, in which he complimented the loveliness 
and the attractions of the American ladies, and the cor¬ 
diality with which they received the Russians when in 
the United States. 

At ten o’clock in the evening the guests separated. 
The people still pressed in a.solid mass about the build¬ 
ing, and it was with the greatest difficulty that our officers 
could reach their carriages. At last all were safely seated, 
and the carriages rolled away, amid a tempest of hurrahs 
such as only Russian throats can give. 

Thus ended the reception in Cronstadt. 


CHAPTER VIII. 


6T. PETERSBURG-ST. ISAAC’S—THE FETE OF THE RIVER 

YACHT CLUB—CZARSKOE-SELO. 

y\ JJGUST 11 th {July 2>Qth ).—On Saturday Mr. Fox 
left officially for St. Petersburg. He was accom¬ 
panied by his secretaries, by Commanders Murray and 
Beaumont, and by about twenty-five other officers. All 
the officers of the squadron were invited by the Em¬ 
peror, but, as it was impossible for all to accept at once, 
they were obliged to alternate. Under the escort of 
Admiral Lessovsky and others of the Russian members 
of the committee of reception, the party took passage on 
the Onega. The. little steamer flew the American flag 
at the fore, and all of the many boats that met her 
were similarly decked. Although the day was cloudy 
and threatened rain, most of them were filled with peo¬ 
ple, who greeted the Onega wfitli cheers and wavings 
of hats and handkerchiefs, while the bands played “ Hail 
Columbia.” 

All the Americans were furnished with guide-books to 
Russia, in the English language, and also with manuals 


ST. ISAAC’S CATHEDRAL. 127 

of Russian conversation, during the passage, by the com¬ 
mittee of reception. 

The Onega steamed into the Neva, and landed at 
the English quay, where a multitude of people was as¬ 
sembled to see the visitors. Mr. Fox was greeted with 
loud and enthusiastic cheers as he crossed the gang-plank, 
and it was with some difficulty that a passage was made 
for him to his carriage. Admiral Lessovsky took a seat be¬ 
side Mr. Fox in the first barouche, and the rest of the party 
followed, Russians and Americans mingled, in other open 
carriages. 

St. Isaac’s Cathedral was visited first. This noble 
structure, probably the finest church in Northern Europe, 
stands in the great square called Isaac’s Place, which 
extends to the banks of the Neva. It occupies the site 
of a church originally built by Peter the Great, and 
dedicated to St. Isaac of Dalmatia, because the city of 
St. Petersburg was founded on the day sacred to him. 
Like nearly all of the Greek churches, it is in the form 
of a Greek cross, with four equal sides, and is surmount¬ 
ed with a cupola of copper overlaid with gold, supported 
by pillars of polished granite. Each of the four grand 
entrances is reached by three flights of granite steps, each 
entire flight chiselled from a single block. The four por¬ 
ticos have monolithic granite columns, sixty feet in height, 
with Corinthian capitals in bronze. 

The magnificent proportions of this cathedral, the 
grand simplicity of its architecture, and its imposing sit¬ 
uation, strike the visitor with awe as he approaches it 
from the side of the square facing the river. On the left 


128 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


is the Admiralty, its side six hundred and fifty feet in 
length, its front extending half a mile to the square of 
the Winter Palace ; on the right, the Senate-House and 
the Holy Synod; and in its front is the colossal equestrian 
statue of Peter the Great. 

The interior of St. Isaac’s is as remarkable for its 
magnificence of decoration as is the exterior for its grand¬ 
eur and sublimity. Polished variegated marbles of every 
hue, all from the Russian dominions, splendid columns of 
malachite and of lapis-lazuli, gilded bronze-work, and 
pictures and mosaics by Russian artists, present a coup 
(Pceil almost impossible to describe. The inmost shrine, 
presented by Mr. Demidoff, 1 is valued at a million ru¬ 
bles. The Royal Door of the ikonastas, or screen, is of 
bronze, and is twenty-three feet in height by fifteen in 
breadth. To one accustomed to our plainer edifices of 
worship, St. Isaac’s appears to have an exuberance of dec¬ 
oration, but the grand ceremonial of the Greek Church 
demands corresponding surroundings. 

Mr. Phonin, the inspector, and Mr. Seraphimoff, the 
pastor of the cathedral, received Mr. Fox and those ac¬ 
companying him, and conducted them through all parts 
of the building, finishing by taking them to the lantern on 
the great dome, whence they had a view of the whole 
city. Beneath them flowed the Heva and the Little 
Neva, with their islands of palaces and splendid bridges, 
their steamers and sailing-craft; and beyond, to the east, 
the Great Nevka, whose course could be seen almost to 
the Gulf of Finland. From this point, St. Petersburg ap- 

1 Prince of San Donato, in Tuscanv. 


I 


THE DOME OF ST. ISAAC’S. 129 

pears to be, what it really is, a city built amid the waters. 
As far as the eye can reach, palaces and public buildings, 
churches and schools, factories and private dwellings, face 
the rivers and line the canals. Down at one’s feet lies 
the great Admiralty, with the Winter Palace beside it, 
and the three principal streets of the city diverging from 
it like the sticks of a fan. These thoroughfares, the Nev¬ 
sky Prospect, or Neva Perspective, the Gorokhovai'a- 
Ulitza, or Peas Street, and the Voskresensky Prospect, or 
Assumption Perspective, intersect the three divisions of 
the south part of the city made by the canals, and deter¬ 
mine the courses of most of the other streets. 

St. Petersburg is a city of magnificent distances. 
Every thing is on a large scale. It has broad streets, no¬ 
ble squares, long perspectives, and grand monuments of 
art. Its only drawback is, that it is built on a dead level, 
with no elevation to relieve the monotony or to give it 
picturesqueness. The splendor of its structures is thus, 
in a measure, hidden. But a more intimate acquaintance 
with its architectural wonders convinces one that it is lit¬ 
tle behind the more ancient capitals of Europe in beauty 
or in interesting associations. 

Before leaving St. Isaac’s, Mr. Phonin, the inspector, 
presented to Mr. Fox a plan and description of the cathe¬ 
dral. It is a comparatively new building, even where 
every thing is of the present, having been begun in 1819, 
by Alexander I., and consecrated in 1858, by Alexander 
II. Its foundation alone, of piles driven into the swampy 
soil, is said to have cost over a million dollars. It was 

built by M. Montferrand, a French architect, who erected 
9 


130 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


also the great Alexander column. If lie had never accom¬ 
plished any other works, these two ought to immortalize 
his name. 

The equestrian statue of Peter the Great is one of 
the most noted monuments of Europe. The Emperor is 
reining in his horse on the brink of a precipice, a ser¬ 
pent, writhing under his charger’s feet, being emble¬ 
matic of the difficulties which beset the founder of 
Russia’s greatness in the beginning. The block of 
granite which forms the pedestal weighs fifteen hun¬ 
dred tons, and was brought from Laklita, in Finland, 
four miles from the city. The transportation of this 
immense monolith to its present site was effected by 
Count Marino Carburis, a Greek engineer in the Rus¬ 
sian service, to whom Catherine II. intrusted the work. 
The stone, a detached mass of granite, lay embedded 
fifteen feet deep in a swamp. How to raise it from 
its position and convey it to St. Petersburg was a 
problem which daunted the ablest engineers. But Car¬ 
buris invented a machine which overcame the mechanical 
difficulties, and under his superintendence it was safely 
shipped to the banks of the Neva and moved thence by 
land to its appointed site, where it was erected Septem¬ 
ber 30, 1769. This was considered so wonderful an 
engineering feat, that the apparatus with which it was 
effected was placed, at the request of the French Gov¬ 
ernment, in the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers , at 
Paris. 

On each of the two sides are the following simple but 
noble inscriptions, in Russian and in Latin : 


STATUE OF PETER THE GREAT. 


131 


Petbu Pervomu, Ekaterina Ytoraya. 

Petro Primo, Catiiarina Seounda. 

MDCCLXXXII. 

The bronze statue, which is seventeen and a half feet 
in height, was the work of the celebrated French sculptor, 
Etienne Maurice Falconet, who executed it in St. Peters¬ 
burg, in 1776, by order of Catherine II. It is considered 
his greatest work. The horse, which is rearing, is sup¬ 
ported by the hinder legs and tail, the latter being inge¬ 
niously connected with a coil of the serpent, whicli is 
fastened firmly to the rock. 

From St. Isaac’s Place the party were driven to the 
Hotel de France, where they took possession of the rooms 
provided for them by the Emperor’s orders. They found 
every thing needful put at their disposal, free of expense 
—carriages to visit any part of the city, and steam-yachts 
to return to the ships, or to go to Cronstadt. 

At two o’clock a lunch was given to Mr. Fox and suite 
at the residence of Mr. Clay, the American minister. A 
large number of government officials and most of the 
foreign diplomats were present. 

The evening was spent with the River Yacht Club of 
St. Petersburg, whose members gave a special and superb 
festival in honor of the visitors. The squadron of row¬ 
boats belonging to the club went, under the commodore’s 
flag, to meet the Americans near the landing-place of Ka- 
menoy (Stone) Island. Boats were in waiting here for the 
guests, who, as they took their places, were saluted with 
oars by the club, a band meanwhile playing the American 


132 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


national airs. Mr. Fox’s barge, in which were also Mr. 
Clay, Mr. Yan Buren and his daughter and niece, and 
Commanders Murray and Beaumont, took the lead, with 
the commodore’s boat, and the little squadron floated 
gayly down the river, pausing now and then to acknowl¬ 
edge the demonstrations of the people who lined the 
banks. 

When the fleet came in sight of the Club-House, the 
American flag was hoisted upon the flag-staff, and the 
yachts, all displaying our colors, fired a salute of twenty- 
one guns. A military band played “ Hail Columbia,” and, 
as the party ascended the landing-steps, an orchestral 
band took up the same air. 

As soon as Mr. Fox and the gentlemen with him had 
received the greetings of the club, the commodore, Mr. 
Poznansky, invited him to assist in the launching of 
a little yacht. Miss Yan Buren kindly consented to per¬ 
form the christening ceremony. As Mr. Fox knocked 
away the blocks from under the boat, the lady broke a bot¬ 
tle of wine over the bow, and named it the “ G. Y. Fox.” 

The evening passed quickly in dancing, promenading, 
and in social converse. As soon as the darkness set in, 
fireworks, signals, and blue-lights, were displayed on the 
river, giving a beautiful and weird appearance to the 
scene. After the first division of dances, the guests were 
invited to tea, which was served upon a terrace overlook¬ 
ing the river, whose banks and the boats upon .it were 
hung with countless lanterns. A choir of musicians, sta¬ 
tioned at the landing, sung at the same time a number of 
Russian national songs. At the close of the second part 


fete of the river YACHT CLUB. 133 

of the programme there was a serenade from illuminated 
gondolas on the river, the singers chanting the wild songs 
of the Volga. 

After the last division of the dances, supper was served 
in a beautiful pavilion erected for the occasion, at which 
were drunk the customary toasts to the President of the 
United States and to the Emperor of Russia, the latter be¬ 
ing given by Mr. Fox. Each of these healths was received 
with the same enthusiasm which it had inspired every¬ 
where before, and was accompanied with the usual music. 
During the supper the choir of singers alternated with 
the band, and another grand illumination took place. 

After the ceremony of leave-taking was over and the 
guests were ready to depart, the band, with the Russian 
and American flags flying, took its position in front of 
Mr. Fox’s carriage, and the members of the club, forming 
on each side, escorted the party as far as the first bridge, 
the road being illuminated by lines of sailors burning 
blue-lights. 

Our officers pronounced this one of the most beauti¬ 
ful entertainments of the kind they ever witnessed. The 
weather was superb, and nothing occurred to mar the har¬ 
mony of the arrangements from the beginning to the end. 
The River Yacht Club of St. Petersburg will never be 
forgotten by those who enjoyed its hospitalities at this 
unique fete. 

August 13 th {1st ).—The morning opened rainy, but 
the sun broke through the clouds early, and the weather 
became fine. At ten o’clock Mr. Eox, Commanders Mur- 


134 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


ray and Beaumont, Messrs. Green and Loubat, the Rus¬ 
sian officers of reception, and other gentlemen, twenty- 
two in number, started for Czarskoe-Selo, to visit the 
palace and the arsenal there. On arriving at the railway 
station, they were met by the directors of the road, who 
put at their service a special train, made up of the Em¬ 
peror’s carriages. The fifteen miles between St. Peters¬ 
burg and Czarskoe-Selo were run in twenty minutes. In 
the imperial waiting-rooms of the station at the latter 
place they were received by General Gogol, the governor 
of the palace, who had court carriages in readiness for the 
party. Rear-Admiral Gorkovenko, who was also present, 
kindly offered his services as cicerone. 

Czarskoe-Selo, or the Czar’s Village, of all the crown 
estates in the vicinity of St. Petersburg, has been, for 
more than a century, one of the most favored resorts of 
the' imperial family. It was built in 1744, in the reign of 
the Empress Elizabeth, but it has been greatly improved 
and embellished by succeeding sovereigns, particularly by 
Catherine II., who expended vast sums on the adornment 
of the palaces and grounds. The latter, which receive 
the most careful attention, and are unexcelled in Europe 
for artificial beauty, are eighteen miles in circumference. 
The fagade of the principal palace, which is seven hundred 
and eighty feet in length, has an imposing appearance. 
In the time of Catherine, the capitals of all the columns, 
the statues, vases, and other ornaments, were overlaid with 
gold-leaf; but it has now worn off, and no gilding is seen 
excepting on the dome of the chapel, which occupies a 
conspicuous position in front. 


CZARSKOE-SELO PALACE. 


135 


The interior of the palace is very beautiful, its rooms 
and halls being decorated with the most costly and taste¬ 
ful designs, each being a contrast to the other. The Am¬ 
ber Room is the most celebrated, the walls of which are 
entirely panelled with that precious material, carved and 
moulded in artistic forms, bass-reliefs, monograms, coats- 
of-arms, and other appropriate devices. The amber for 
this room was presented by Frederick the Great to Cath¬ 
erine II., and his arms occupy conspicuous places in the 
ornamentation. Another room is incrusted with lapis- 
lazuli, with a floor of ebony inlaid with flowers of mother- 
of-pearl. Catherine’s bedchamber has walls of porcelain 
with pillars of purple glass. The Chinese Room is orna¬ 
mented with fantastic designs, and furnished in the style 
peculiar to the Flowery Kingdom. The ceilings of almost 
all the state-apartments are lavishly gilded, and the walls 
of the grand dining-room are covered with gold. The 
floors are no less beautiful, costly marbles, malachite, 
lapis-lazuli, and inlaid woods, meeting the eye in every 
direction. 

At the palace, the party were joined by Madame 
Gogol, her three daughters, and her son, and by several 
other ladies, many of whom spoke English well. While 
enjoying a conversation with them on the Grecian Ter¬ 
race, which overlooks the lake, the Americans had an op¬ 
portunity of witnessing one of the most striking cere¬ 
monies of the Greek Church, the blessing of water. As 
the procession of long-robed priests passed by, bearing sym¬ 
bolical banners and emblems, and chanting the solemn 
service, all reverently removed their hats, and paid close 


136 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


attention to the ceremonial, which was to them both 
grand and novel. The ladies kindly explained to them 
the meaning of the rite, and of the symbols borne in the 
procession. 

In the afternoon the party enjoyed a drive through 
the park, and had pointed out to them the various objects 
of interest: the Palace of Alexander I., the tower where 
the present Emperor resided with his tutor when heir-ap¬ 
parent, the Turkish kiosk, the marble bridge, the aerial 
garden, the miniature fleet in one of the lakes, constructed 
for the amusement of the Grand-duke Constantine when 
a boy, the Swiss chalet , and the many monuments, stat¬ 
ues, and commemorative pillars, with which the grounds 
abound. The Gothic building called the Admiralty, with 
its miniature dock-yard, was also visited, where a large 
and fine collection of row-boats was seen. A crowd of 
people had collected here to see the strangers. 

The party called next on Mr. Svertclikoff, celebrated 
as an animal-painter, who had a temporary studio in a 
pavilion near by. He showed them some of his works, 
among others his latest picture, representing a grand 
review of troops near Moscow by the Czar Alexis. 
Thence they went to the Dutch farm, also in the park, 
where a milk lunch was served, and afterward to the Ar¬ 
senal to see the splendid collection of antique armor and 
arms. This building is a red-brick structure, in the 
Gothic style, and was erected by the late Emperor Nicho¬ 
las for the reception of this museum. It contains a great 
collection of arms and armor, ancient and modern, of 
almost all nations. In the centre of the building is a 


TIIE ARSENAL—PAYLOYSK. 


137 


large vaulted hall, where, standing on pedestals at the 
entrance of the different alcoves, are equestrian figures, 
fully armed and accoutred for the field. From the ceil¬ 
ings hang captured standards, and upon the walls, ar¬ 
ranged in fanciful devices, are the implements of war of 
all ages and of all countries, Christian and pagan. Many 
are of great historic or of intrinsic value. Among the 
latter are numerous weapons studded with diamonds and 
other precious stones, that have been presented to the 
different Czars and Emperors by the sovereigns of Europe 
and of Asia. 

At five o’clock the party sat down to dinner in the 
orange-house adjoining General Gogol’s residence. The 
meal w r as enlivened with toasts and speeches, but all of a 
friendly and unofficial character. Admirals Lessovsky 
and Gorkovenko, and Miss Gogol, the daughter of the 
host, acted as interpreters and translated the several 
speeches into Russian or English, as the case demanded. 
Coffee and yellow tea were served in the garden, and the 
evening passed in delightful conversation, until the time 
for the departure for Pavlovsk was announced. 

At eight o’clock a special train conveyed the whole 
company to Pavlovsk, about three miles distant. The 
directors of the Czarskoe-Selo Railway, which was the 
first railroad built in Russia, had offered a fete in the 
Vauxhall, at the railway-station, in honor of the mission. 
The gardens were thronged with the most refined peo¬ 
ple of St. Petersburg, with whom this is a favorite sum¬ 
mer resort. There were said to be twelve thousand per¬ 
sons present. The Vauxhall was illuminated with gas- 


138 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


jets, and tlie fountains and water-works of tlie gardens 
were lit with different-colored electric lights. Opposite 
the great building an arch was erected, radiant with 
transparencies and Chinese lanterns. The whole scene 
was indescribably beautiful, and elicited frequent ap¬ 
plause from the spectators. 

When Mr. Fox, walking arm-in-arm with Admiral 
Lessovsky through the dense crowd in the garden, came 
in front of the orchestra, the band played “ Hail Colum¬ 
bia.” Every man in the audience removed his hat and 
remained standing until the close, wdien the most enthusi¬ 
astic applause ensued, and the band was forced, at the 
demand of the people, to repeat the air. During the 
evening the u Miantonomoh Galop ” was played, a new 
piece of music composed by Mr. Fiirstnow, the leader ot 
the orchestra, who presented Mr. Fox, to whom it was 
dedicated, with a copy. 1 

The following is the programme of the music : 

CZARSKOE-SELO RAILWAY. 

VAUXHALL AT PAVLOVSK. MONDAY, AUGUST 1866. 
iif A JfERICA IT-RUSSIAN FEAST. 

PROGRAMME OF THE MUSIC. 

Past I. 

1. Hail Columbia and the Russian National Hymn, 

2. Overture to the opera “ Life for the Czar,” . . Glinka. 

3. Over Land and Sea, Waltz, .... Jos. Gungl. 

4. Yankee. Doodle,. 

5. Kamarinskai'a, Russian Dance,. Glinka. 


1 Appendix C. 




THE YAUXHALL FETE. 


139 


Part II. 

6. Overture, “ Jota Aragonesa,” .... Glinka. 
V. Prayer, Solo for Violoncello, with Harp, . . Warlamoff. 

8. Miantonomoh Galop, dedicated to Captain G. Y. 

Fox, ....... H. Furstnow. 

9. Bouquet of Russian Melodies, .... Schubert. 

Part III. 

10. Overture, “ Rousslan and Ludmilla,” . . . Glinka. 

11. Komissaroff Polka,.• . H. Furstnow. 

12. Finale of the opera “ Life for the Czar,” . . Glinka. 

A Military Band will play between the Parts. 

Gas Illumination and Electric Lights. •> 


After the music was ended the party were invited into 
the hall to a supper spread in the great railway-station, 
which was attended with the usual speeches, toasts, and 
manifestations of good feeling. In response to the loud 
calls of the crowd outside, Mr. Fox made a few appropri¬ 
ate remarks from one of the windows, concluding by giv¬ 
ing a toast to the health of the Emperor. His words were 
received with deafening cheers, and Commanders Murray 
and Beaumont were then obliged to show themselves in a 
similar manner, in compliance with the popular wish. 

At midnight the whistle of the coming train put, an 
end to the festivities. While waiting in the station, 
which was carpeted and brilliantly lighted, a crowd of 
people, chiefly ladies, pressed around the car in which 
the Americans were seated. As the warning hell rang, 
the gentlemen cheered, and the ladies waved their hand¬ 
kerchiefs. Mr. Fox drew some flowers from a bouquet 
he held and presented them to a young lady near him, 
who was particularly demonstrative in her applause. She 


140 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


accepted them with blushes, and her companions pressed 
to the windows for similar souvenirs. The gentlemen 
hastily distributed their bouquets, and the train moved 
from the platform amid a tempest of hurrahs. 


CHAPTER IX. 


TI1E ADMIRALTY—IMPERIAL LIBRARY-WINTER PALACE AND 

HERMITAGE—DINNER TO THE CREWS. 

yj UGUST 14 th (2d). — Tuesday opened bright and 
clear. At ten o’clock Mr. Fox and party went, in 
company with Admiral Lessovsky and a number of other 
Russian officers, to visit the Admiralty. This great 
building, which is nearly half a mile in length on the 
front facing Admiralty Place, and six hundred and fifty 
feet on the two sides or wings which extend to the river, 
occupies three sides of a hollow square. Its dome and 
spire are visible even at Cronstadt, and from its galleries 
the whole city may be seen. It is devoted principally to 
the civil departments of the navy, to the school for naval 
cadets, and to the naval museum. The open place around 
the Admiralty, on which stand the principal public build¬ 
ings of the city, is about a mile in circumference. On 
one side of it is the equestrian statue of Peter the Great, 
and on the other, the northeast side, fronting the Winter 
Palace, is the splendid column of Alexander I. This is the 
largest monolith in the world. It is a granite shaft, eighty 
feet in height by fifteen feet in diameter, upon a pedestal 


142 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


ornamented with bronze bass-reliefs, and with a bronze 
capital, cast from metal obtained from captured Turkish 
cannon. The whole is surmounted by a statue of Vic¬ 
tory, upholding the Cross. Although the column is of 
native Finland granite, the severe cold of this almost arc¬ 
tic climate makes every winter cracks and cleavages 
which have to be carefully repaired with cement. 

To naval men the collection in the museum is of great 
interest. It occupies two large halls, and consists chiefly 
of models of all the vessels that have ever been connected 
with the Russian navy, from the earliest attempts at ship¬ 
building under the Czar Alexis and the Emperor Peter 
the Great, down to the latest iron-clads of Alexander II. 
Arranged in chronological order, this superb collection 
presents an epitome of Russian naval history from the first 
victory of Peter the Great down to Navarino and Sinope. 
The models of the monitors, which type of vessel Russia 
adopted as soon as their efficiency had been proved in our 
Civil War, attracted the particular attention of our officers. 
The museum contains, also, many naval curiosities and 
ethnographical and mineralogical specimens. 

The mission visited next the Imperial Public Library, 
on the Nevsky Prospect. This magnificent collection is 
one of the finest in Europe, containing eight hundred 
thousand volumes of printed books and over twenty-five 
thousand manuscripts, in all languages, ancient and mod¬ 
ern. Of the printed books, ninety thousand are in the 
Russian language, and more than thirty thousand, in 
all languages except the Russian, relate to Russia. 
Among the manuscripts are many of great value. The 


THE WINTER PALACE. 


143 


oldest extant manuscript in tlie Russian language, a 
book containing the evangelists, is preserved here. It 
is written in the Slavonian character, and bears the 
date of 1056. In early Hebrew manuscripts the library 
is richer than any other in Europe, and its Oriental col¬ 
lection is very extensive. It contains also a vast number 
of literary curiosities, such as autographs and portraits of 
celebrities, specimens of writing-materials of all ages, and 
a series of prints produced by all known processes, from 
the earliest invention down to the present time. 

The party was received by Mr. John Delianoif, the 
director of the library, who politely showed the different 
rooms, and pointed out all the objects worthy of special 
attention. Several volumes and splendidly-bound cata¬ 
logues were presented to Mr. Fox on his departure. 

In the afternoon, the Winter Palace, the Hermitage, 
and the Museum of Agricultural Management, were vis¬ 
ited. The Winter Palace, the residence of the Emperor 
and of the imperial court during the winter season, stands 
on the left bank of the Neva, facing the river, between the 
Admiralty and the Hermitage. It is an immense struct¬ 
ure of four stories in height, with a frontage of four hun¬ 
dred and fifty feet. The principal entrance is from the 
river by a stately flight of marble steps. The chief state 
apartments are the Throne-room of Peter I., the Hall of 
St. George, the White Hall, the Alexander Hall, and the 
Gallery of the Field-Marshals. The Hall of St. George 
is a magnificent apartment, one hundred and forty by 
sixty feet in size. The Field-Marshals’ Hall contains 
portraits of the Russian field-marshals and generals who 


144 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


distinguished themselves in the War of 1812-’14. In the 
Alexander Hall and in other rooms are many battle- 
pictures of both the Russian army and navy. 

The crown jewels are kept in a room of the Winter 
Palace. Among the treasures to be seen here, is the 
,/great Orloff diamond, of one hundred and ninety-four 
aud three-fourths carats, so called from Count Orloff, who 
presented it to Catherine II. It is set in the top of the 
imperial sceptre. With the exception of two slight flaws, 
it is a perfect stone, and it is the largest of all the crown 
diamonds of Europe. The imperial crown and the coro¬ 
net of the Empress are resplendent with jewels, the most 
of them of immense value. Many of the gems in this 
collection are of great interest, besides their intrinsic 
worth, from historical associations. 

The drawing-room of the Empress in the Winter Pal¬ 
ace is a gorgeous apartment, the walls and ceiling of 
which are gilded. When lighted at night by hundreds 
of wax-tapers, the effect is very striking. In direct con¬ 
trast to this elegant saloon is the small, plainly-furnished 
room in which the great Emperor Nicholas died. His 
military cloak is folded on the narrow iron camp-bed¬ 
stead on which he expired, and his helmet and sword lie 
where he put them last. On the wall hangs the portrait 
of his favorite daughter, the Grand-duchess Olga, who 
was esteemed in her day the most beautiful woman in 
Europe. She is a lady of great and varied accomplish¬ 
ments and honors the throne of Wiirttemberg, which she 
graces. She married, July 13,1846, the Crown-Prince of 
Wiirttemberg, who now reigns under the title of Charles I. 



©3. ©a, Q'raiBH' ©if mjsiTinEMisiim© 



THE HERMITAGE. 


145 


The Hermitage is an immense building adjoining the 
Winter Palace, with which it is connected by several 
galleries. It is in the Greek style, and forms a paral¬ 
lelogram of five hundred and fifteen feet by nearly four 
hundred. It was built by Catherine II. for a picture-gal¬ 
lery and museum. The collection, begun by her, has 
been added to by all the succeeding sovereigns, until it 
has assumed colossal proportions. The galleries contain 
about seventeen hundred pictures, representing all the 
celebrated schools. It is particularly rich in Flemish 
and Spanish canvases, having many examples of Rubens, 
Murillo, Velasquez, Vandyck, Rembrandt, Wouvermans, 
and other masters. 

The numismatic collection is one of the finest in Eu¬ 
rope, containing over two hundred thousand specimens, 
many of great rarity and value. The collection of gems 
is unrivalled, combining with several other cabinets the 
celebrated one of the Duke of Orleans. 

The Gallery of Peter the Great is devoted to objects 
of art and industry illustrative of the life of that Emperor. 
Here are preserved the tools with which he worked, his 
mathematical instruments, his books, his canes, and arti¬ 
cles of wearing-apparel. His effigy is placed in the cen¬ 
tre of the room, which belongs properly to the Winter 
Palace, but is entered from the Hermitage. Many other 
costly and curious objects, connected with different Rus¬ 
sian sovereigns, are shown in this apartment. 

To describe even a moiety of the treasures in this 
great museum would require a volume. In many depart¬ 
ments it is unique. Among the most interesting collec- 
10 


146 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


tions are the antiquities from the Cimmerian Bosphorus, 
and the Siberian and Scythian ornaments. Many of the 
latter are exquisite in design, and show evidences of the 
influence of Greek art. The museum is rich also in 
weapons and utensils of the bronze age. 

The Agricultural Museum, in a building near the 
Winter Palace, was visited last. The various products 
and the different agricultural implements of the provinces 
are to be seen here, and all the processes connected with 
the cultivation of the soil in the empire may be studied 
in detail in its rooms. 

In the evening Mr. Fox and several of the gentlemen 
connected with the mission accepted private hospitali¬ 
ties. 

The record of the day would not be complete without 
an account of the banquet given by the port of Cronstadt 
to the crews of the Miantonomoh and the Augusta. A 
canvas shed, one hundred and twenty feet long, was 
erected in one of the principal alleys of the public gar¬ 
den. The interior was decorated with the flags of the 
two nations, and festooned with evergreens. On the front 
waved the Russian and American ensigns, their staves 
crossing each other; and in the rear was a large shield 
emblazoned with the arms of the United States, and bear¬ 
ing the motto “ EPluribus TJnum .” Tables and benches 
stretched the entire length of this improvised dining¬ 
room. 

At ten o’clock, the Russian officers who had charge 
of the dinner, in company with Mr. Wilkins, our vice- 
consul at Cronstadt, went off to the ships in the Ijora 


DINNER TO THE SHIPS' CREWS. 


147 


and brought ashore one hundred and sixty men and 
marines, eighty from each vessel. From the landing- 
place they marched, four abreast, to the garden, where a 
body of Russian tars made them welcome. A number 
of the latter belonged to the crew of the Svietlana, and 
had picked up some English when in America with Ad¬ 
miral Lessovsky in 1S63. Before sitting down at the 
tables, the whole body, Russians and Americans, were 
conducted to a place surrounded by trees, where they 
were formed into a picturesque group and photographed. 
The Mayor of Cronstadt, Vice-Consul 'Wilkins, the Rus¬ 
sian and American officers accompanying the crews, and 
the two flags crossed, made an effective centre, while the 
seamen, arranged on the sides, bore also the flags of their 
respective countries at the wings. 

The tables were served simply but abundantly, beer 
and hvdromel being furnished for drink instead of strong 
liquors, which are interdicted in our navy. The men 
appeared to enjoy themselves greatly, and, despite the dif¬ 
ference in language, hosts and guests were soon on the 
very best of terms. Two bands of music played alter¬ 
nately during the feast, which lasted until flve o’clock in 
the afternoon. The festivities were kept up until late in 
the night, when the sailors were returned to their ships, 
well pleased with the hospitality they had received. 

On this day, Mr. Fox received, through Prince Gort- 
chakoff, the following address from the citizens of Chouia, 
a town of about eight thousand inhabitants, in the govern¬ 
ment of Vladimir: 


148 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


“ To his Excellency , the Vice-Chancellor , Prince Gortchakoff : 

“We respectfully pray you to communicate tlie follow¬ 
ing to Mr. G. V. Fox, Assistant Secretary of the Navy of 
the United States : 

“ In the resolution of the American Congress, and in 
your mission, we recognize an important event, demon¬ 
strating the fraternal friendship of two great nations. 

“ The congratulations and the sympathy of our transat¬ 
lantic brethren touch deeply our hearts, which are filled 
to overflowing with love for the liberator and regenerator 
of Russia, preserved by Divine Providence for the grand 
future of our dear country. 

“ Estimating highly the friendship of the sons of Amer¬ 
ica, and comprehending the full importance of this friend¬ 
ship, at the present time, we, citizens of the town of 
Chouia, hasten to express to you, the honorable represent¬ 
ative of a great people, the sentiments of our sincere 
gratitude. We beg you to transmit to your people the 
expression of our sentiments, with our heart-felt wishes for 
the prosperity and the happiness of their great nation. 

“We sympathize deeply with their affliction caused by 
the loss of the illustrious Lincoln, whose tragic death af¬ 
fected us most painfully. 

(Signed) “ Nicholas Iaalloujsky, President ,” 

and seventy-six other signatures. 

This address was sent by telegraph. Mr. Fox replied 
as follows: 

“ To Mr. Nicholas Kalloujsky, Mayor of the City of Chouia: 

“ I have received your friendly telegram, which has been 
transmitted to me by his Excellency the Yice-Chancellor. 


ADDRESS FROM UFA. 


149 


The fraternal love which exists between Russia and the 
United States is the result of the noble aspirations which 
carry forward the two nations in thq path of civilization. 
The life of him who leads the way at the head of the Rus¬ 
sian people, the life of the Emperor-Liberator, who has 
given a new existence to his subjects, could not be en¬ 
dangered without stirring the feelings of the people of the 
United States, who, though afflicted sorely by their own 
misfortune, unanimously gave thanks to God that Russia 
had been spared from a similar grief. 

“ G. Y. Fox.” 

About the same time, Mr. Fox received also an address 
from Ufa, the capital of the government of Orenburg, on 
the Asiatic frontier. Orenburg is the home of the no¬ 
madic race called Bashkirs, a Tartar or Mongolian tribe 
subdued by Ivan the Terrible. They are Mohammedans in 
religion. They live mostly by pasturage, and are peace¬ 
able subjects of Russia. Ufa, the capital, is situated at 
the junction of the Ufa and Bielaya Rivers, tributaries of 
the Yolga. Its inhabitants are chiefly Russian. 

Their address was as follows : 

“ From distant Ufa, from the Bashkirian centre, we 
send friendly greeting to dear guests, who have sailed 
through the ocean for the sake of bringing to us Russians 
the congratulations of the American people on the occa¬ 
sion of the happy preservation of our Emperor-Liberator. 
The great American Union could in no way show more 
clearly her friendly feelings toward Russia and Russians, 
who love and honor their Emperor above all else on the 


150 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


earth. The brotherly address of the Americans can never 
he rooted out of the hearts of Russians, not even in the 
most distant provinces of our vast country. In our land, 
rich by nature, and peopled by various races, we are, to 
use the language of the magnificently-speaking Captain 
Fox, endeavoring to carry the light of civilization and 
of Christian instruction to the heathen. We supplicate 
the Almighty to help us, under the shadow of the bless¬ 
ing-bringing administration of our Father Gosudar, to 
push forward the great project of melting together the 
men of other races with us Russians, and into one only be¬ 
lief in God, and love and boundless devotion to the reign¬ 
ing Gosudar and his imperial descendants. 

“We conclude with the earnest wish that the uni¬ 
versal national fellow-feeling, now uniting two mighty na¬ 
tions, may be strengthened in those nations’ future gen¬ 
erations, and may assist them to obtain the full deliver¬ 
ance, proclaimed by Providence, of all subjected nations 
from the chains of ignorance and of false beliefs.” 



(Signed) 


and by more than fifty of the principal inhabitants. 

This address, coming from the distant Ural country, 
on the borders of Asia, shows how deeply the whole of 
Russia was affected by the American mission. It was 
answered by Mr. Fox in suitable terms. 


CHAPTER X. 


THE NEVSKY PROSPECT-ALEXANDER NEVSKY-STEEL-GUN 

FOUNDERY-EXCHANGE AND ACADEMY OF SCIENCES— 

THE MERCHANTS 5 DINNER. 

yij TJGUST 15 th (3d ).—"Wednesday morning was bright 
and warm. At ten o’clock the mission started to visit 
the Monastery of St. Alexander Nevsky, one of the most 
celebrated religious establishments in Russia, situated on 
the banks of the Neva, at the end of the Nevsky Pros¬ 
pect. 

The party drove through this splendid street, which 
is probably in every respect the finest in Europe. It is 
one hundred and thirty feet in width and four miles long. 
The buildings on it are not contiguous, but are erected 
on large plots, so that there are not more than fifty in a 
mile’s distance. The cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, 
with its blue domes decked with stars, is one of its most 
conspicuous features. It is named in honor of a picture 
of the Virgin, which was found miraculously preserved 
after a fire in the city of Kazan on the Volga, but it was 
built in commemoration of the defeat of Napoleon. In 
its front are statues of Kutusoff-Smolensky and of Bar¬ 
clay de Tolly, by the Russian sculptor, Boris Orloffsky. 


152 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


Its magnificent ikonastas is made of silver plundered 
from Moscow by the French, and recaptured by the Cos¬ 
sacks during the terrible retreat. An inscription upon it 
records that it was the zealous offering of the Don Cos¬ 
sacks after the campaign of 1812. The tomb of Kutu- 
soff stands on the floor of the church, on the spot where 
he knelt to pray when about to leave to meet the ene¬ 
my. This church is visited by the imperial family on 
occasions of special thanksgiving. It was here that 
Alexander II. came, first alone and afterward in state, to 
render thanks for his preservation from the bullet of 
Karakozoff. 

There is another beautiful church on the Nevsky 
Prospect, with similar blue domes and golden stars, and 
also a Roman Catholic and an Armenian church, a Dutch 
church, and a Protestant German church, all costly 
buildings. Here too is the palace of the Grand-duke 
Michael, the Hotel de l’Rtat Major, or military head¬ 
quarters, an imposing building, the great Bazaar, or 
Gastinnoy Dvor, with its ten thousand merchants, 
the Institute of St. Catherine, and other noble struct¬ 
ures. 

The monastery of St. Alexander Nevsky is at' the 
extreme end of the street, near the limits of the city. It 
covers several acres of ground and encloses within its 
walls, besides the convent proper, a cathedral, chapels, 
monks’ cells, and beautiful gardens and lawns. 

Alexander Nevsky is the seat of a metropolitan, and 
is one of the three chief monasteries of the empire, being 
inferior only to those at Moscow and Kiew. It was 


ST. ALEXANDER NEVSKY. 


153 


founded by Peter the Great, in honor of the canonized 
Grand-duke Alexander, who defeated the Swedes in a 
great battle on its site in 1241, and acquired thereby the 
surname of Nevsky (of the Neva). The cathedral, which 
was built by Catherine I., is one of the largest and finest 
churches in the city and contains a vast amount of treas¬ 
ure. The shrine of the saint is of solid silver, weighing 
over three thousand pounds. The whole interior of the 
church is richly ornamented with Italian marbles, and 
with pearls and precious stones. The monastery has a 
magnificent collection of jewelled mitres, croziers, and 
crosses, pontifical robes of gold brocade, and the various 
utensils and dresses belonging to the splendid ceremonials 
of the Greek Church. The crown of Alexander Nevsky 
and the bed on which Peter the Great died are among 
the relics preserved here. 

The monastery proper contains about sixty monks, 
whose chief duty is to superintend an academy connected 
with it for the education of ecclesiastics. The Ameri¬ 
cans were very graciously received by them, and politely 
shown all the objects of beauty and of interest in the 
buildings and gardens. 

Mr. Fox and party, attended by the Russian officers, 
went thence in open carriages eleven miles up the Neva, 
to the steel-gun foundery of Mr. Aboukhoff, which is 
under the direction of Admiral Crabbe, the Minister of 
Marine. It is a singular fact that the process of casting 
steel in such enormous quantities was discovered almost 
simultaneously in Russia by Aboukhoff and by Krupp in 
Prussia; and it is only at this foundry and at Krupp’s, 


154 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


at Essen, that the process is carried on after methods 
known only to the inventors. The works of Mr. Abou- 
khoff are very extensive, although not yet completed, and 
are capable of furnishing cannon unsurpassed by any sim¬ 
ilar establishment in the world. The steel is of great 
tenacity, and the guns made from it will stand very 
heavy charges of powder. 

Admiral Crabbe met the party and showed them 
through the works, explaining every thing of interest. 
The method of fusing the steel in crucibles was exhib¬ 
ited, and a gun cast in their presence. These crucibles 
can stand a heat of 2,800 degrees centigrade. 

The huge steam-hammers in this foundery are note¬ 
worthy, particularly the largest, which is named “ Grand¬ 
father.” It weighs forty tons, and its anvil, which is in 
four parts, about four hundred tons. To fix this giant 
hammer, and to consolidate its foundations, was one of 
the most difficult problems of modem science. An exca¬ 
vation of eighty feet in depth had to be made before the 
bed of solid granite was reached. On this the foundations 
were laid, and now its strokes thunder on the great anvil 
with impunity. 

When the Americans were about to leave, the assem¬ 
bled workmen gave them three hearty cheers. After a 
drive through the beautiful park of Count Apraxine, the 
party stopped at the country-house of Mr. Poutiloff, one 
of the proprietors of the steel-foundery, where they sat 
down to a lunch, which was enjoyed by all after their 
long drive. 

In the afternoon the return to St. Petersburg was 

O 


EXCHANGE—ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 


155 


made by steamer, and the Exchange and the Museum of 
the Academy of Sciences were visited. Both of these 
buildings are on Vassilievsky 1 2 Island, on the point 
formed by the Neva and the Little Neva, directly oppo¬ 
site the Winter Palace and the Admiralty, with which 
the island is connected by the Palace Bridge. 

The Exchange is a massive building, originally erected 
in 1784, but entirely rebuilt in the beginning of the pres¬ 
ent century. In the open space in front of it stand two 
columns, over a hundred feet in height, each surmounted 
by figures holding hollow globes, in which fires are some¬ 
times built. The great hall, which is lighted from the 
roof, is of imposing dimensions. 

The Academy of Sciences was founded in 1724, by 
Peter the Great. Its museums* are very extensive, em¬ 
bracing collections illustrative of ethnography, anatomy, 
zoology, mineralogy, botany, etc. Its library contains 
one hundred and fifty thousand books and manuscripts, 
among the latter being the papers of Kepler. The cab¬ 
inets of medals and coins are also very valuable and in¬ 
structive. In the Asiatic Museum are over twenty thou¬ 
sand specimens from the East alone. The Ethnographic 
Museum is devoted to the costumes and implements of all 
the races inhabiting the Bussian Empire. In the Zoo¬ 
logical collection are shown the remains of mammoths 


1 Basil’s Island, so called from the name of its occupant in the time of 
Peter the Great. 

2 When these museums were opened, it was suggested that an entrance- 
fee should be charged, as is done in similar institutions in some European 
cities. But Peter the Great, with that far-sightedness which marked his 
whole career, replied that he would rather pay the people for visiting them. 


156 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


that have been frozen in the ice of Siberia since the early 
geological periods. The flesh of these antediluvians is so 
well preserved that the wolves and bears feed upon it 
when accident reveals any of their enormous bodies, 
which are larger than elephants. 

At five o’clock, Mr. Fox was entertained at a grand 
dinner, given in his honor, by the Merchants’ Associa¬ 
tion of St. Petersburg, at their Club-IIouse on the Nev¬ 
sky Prospect. Among the invited were General Clay 
and Mr. Curtin, Messrs. Green and Loubat, Commanders 
Murrav and Beaumont, and all the other officers of the 
squadron who could be spared from duty. The rooms 
were elaborately decorated with flags and banners, with 
the American and Russian coats-of-anns, and with por¬ 
traits of the great men of the twti countries- wreathed 
with flowers and evergreens. Hundreds of laurel, orange, 
and lemon trees, and other rare shrubs and flowers, were 
distributed along the walls and on the staircases with 
charming effect, giving the dining-hall the appearance of 
an illuminated garden. 

The wide street in front of the Club-House was filled 
with a multitude of people, who welcomed the Americans 
with shouts as they drove up to the entrance. The guests 
were received by the officers of the club, and, after the 
customary “ zakuska,” were conducted arm-in-arm to 
the dining-room, where nearly four hundred persons sat 
down at the tables. The various ranks and positions, 
public and private, were represented at this feast, which 
was the first of a general character given to our officers 
in St. Petersburg. 


BANQUET OF THE MERCHANTS’ CLUB. 


157 


The bill of fare was printed in gold on glazed Bristol- 
board, in English on one side and in Russian on the other. 
It read as follows : 

MERCHANTS’ CLUB, ST. PETERSBURG. 

* 

BILL OF FAKE. 

{August 3 d, 1866.) 

1. Turtle-soup. 

Puree & la chasseur. 

2. Petits Pates. 

3. Snipe, with jelly. Strasbourg pates. 

4. Sterlet & la Russe. 

6. Capons, with truffles. Sauce supreme. 

6. Roman punch. 

7. Pheasants, partridges, chickens. 

8. Artichokes, with peas. 

9. G&teau it l’Americaine. 

10. Ices. 

11. Fruits and confectionery 

A similar card, also printed in both English and Rus¬ 
sian, contained the list of regular toasts : 

TOASTS. 

1. The President and People of the United States. 

2. His Majesty the Emperor of Russia. 

3. Her Majesty the Empress of Russia, the Grand-duke Heritier, and 
the Imperial Family. 

4. The Honorable Mr. Fox, Assistant Secretary of the American Navy. 
6. General Clay, Minister of the United States. 

6. The Merchants of Russia. 

7. The Merchants of the United States. 

8. The American Navy. 

9. The Russian Navy. 


Wines of the choicest vintages, and the music of an 
orchestra, added zest to the feast. The tables, spread 


158 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


with a superb service of silver and crystal, and adorned 
with bronzes and porcelain vases, mingled with choice 
flowers, presented a luxurious and inviting sight in the 
soft light of the hundreds of wax-tapers and candelabras. 
A notable feature of the table decoration was ripe pine¬ 
apples growing in boxes. These, as well as the most of 
the exotic plants, were sent by Mr. Outine, one of the 
directors of the club, from his hot-houses at his splen¬ 
did country-seat of Kamenoy-Ostrov. This gentleman 
also contributed his silver, bronzes, and porcelain for the 
occasion, and gave his personal attention to the decora¬ 
tions of the rooms. 

The toasts began, according to the Russian custom, 
with the second service. Mr. Yargounine, a director 
of the club, gave the first toast, prefacing it by a few 
remarks in the Russian language, which were translated 
into English by Admiral Lessovsky. 

“ The Hon. G. Y. Fox, 5 ' he said, “ has honored us by 
accepting the unanimous invitation of the Russian Cor¬ 
poration of Merchants of St. Petersburg to the dinner 
to-day. It is not the first time that our Society has 
expressed its sincere and heart-felt friendship for the 
citizens of the United States. I think that the re¬ 
spected General Clay has not forgotten the cordial 
reception which was given to him by the Society in 
February last, nor the speeches expressive of friendly 
attachment made on that day. But now we are still 
more closely bound to this great nation by the sym¬ 
pathy which it has shown to us for the sorrowful event 
of the 4th of April. The heart of every Russian beat 


BANQUET OF THE MERCHANTS’ CLUB. 


159 


with joy when it was known that our friends beyond 
the ocean were sending a deputation from Congress, 
with congratulations for the wonderful preservation, 
through Divine mercy, of our beloved and dear Em¬ 
peror. This act clearly shows to us that we have sin¬ 
cere friends, who rejoice in every success of Russia, 
and who sympathize with us in every trial. Our friend¬ 
ship is not founded on selfish political considerations, nor 
on the possible benefits of commercial treaties. hTo ; it 
is a bond of affection, and the feeling of conscious inde¬ 
pendence and power. And we think that the bonds 
uniting these two great powers are indissoluble, and that 
our sincere friendship will -remain unchanged for ages; 
and we shall forever, as we do now, raise our glasses for 
the health of the President of the United States, and the 
whole American nation.” 

Mr. Yargounine was interrupted frequently by ap¬ 
plause during the course of his remarks, and, at the close, 
the President’s health was drunk, amid the greatest en¬ 
thusiasm. It is worth noting here that at all Russian ban¬ 
quets it is customary to drink the toast to the Emperor 
before all others; and the giving the precedence to our 
President was an extraordinary compliment never before 
bestowed on a foreign ruler. 

Mr. Fox replied by summing up compactly, in the fol¬ 
lowing toast, the five great measures of reform which 
have made illustrious the reign of Alexander II. : 

“ To him whose intrepid heart, inspired by God, has 
abolished in Russia serfdom and corporal punishment, 
who has endowed the country with local self-government, 


160 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


trial by jury, and liberty of the press—the Emperor of 
Russia.” 

The sentiment was received with loud cheers. 

After the toast to the Empress, the Cezarevitch, and 
the imperial family, had been drunk, Mr. Outine rose 
and announced, in a few graceful remarks, that the Rus¬ 
sian Merchants’ Club, in testimony of its deep sympathy 
with the mission confided to the Hon. Mr. Fox, and of 
its gratitude for the honor of his visit, had elected him an 
honorary member. He closed by proposing “ The health 
of the new member.” 

Mr. Fox replied in fitting words, thanking the club 
for the compliment, and saying that he appreciated highly 
the honor conferred upon him. 

Mr. Clay, in response to the toast to the American 
minister at the imperial court, spoke of the importance 
of industry and commerce in a state, pointing his remarks 
with illustrations drawn from the Civil War in the United 
States, where the artisans who made a part of the army 
repaired in a short time what the enemy had destroyed, 
thus aiding the triumph of the Union and bringing to a 
happy issue the bloody struggle. He closed by giving 
££ The health of the Merchants of Russia.” 

Mr. Kokoreff, a distinguished and wealthy merchant 
of Moscow, responded: 

££ The arrival in Russia of our American guests has 
for us a deep significance. Under the influence of this 
great occasion we are unable to define even approxima- 
tively its importance. Our valued guests have honored us 
with this visit not on account of political or of commercial 


BANQUET OF THE MERCHANTS’ CLUB. 


161 


interests, but from the disinterested, the pure and lofty 
desire of the American people to join in the general re¬ 
joicing ol the people of Russia. Mr. Fox has expressed 
the feelings of his countrymen to our beloved imperial 
reformer. We most respectfully request the honored 
envoy of the United States, upon his return to his native 
land, to inform his people that they could not have chosen 
a better means of creating a brotherly feeling of love for 
Americans in every Russian mansion and in every Rus¬ 
sian cabin throughout the empire than by such a manifes¬ 
tation of their joy for the preservation of the life of him 
who sheds light upon Russian life by his philanthropy, 
justice, enlightenment, and mercy. The citizens of 
America, understanding Russia and her history, know 
that the long life and health of Alexander II. is for 
us a pledge of glory, happiness, and strength. Pro¬ 
foundly grateful for such sympathy, I beg to propose 
a toast: “ To all the members of Congress who voted 
to send to Russia the national American mission.” 

When the acclamations with which Mr. KokorefPs 
speech was received had subsided, the merchants of the 
United States were honored with a toast. 

Admiral Crabbe, the Minister of the Havy, made the 
next speech. He called the Americans the masters of the 
Russians in the art of navigation, and instanced the Rus¬ 
sian monitors, which are constructed on American mod¬ 
els. He proposed “ The health of our masters, the Offi¬ 
cers of the American Navy.” 

This complimentary toast brought Captain Murray to 
his feet. 


11 


162 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


u In bringing across the ocean,” he said, “ the sym¬ 
pathies of a great people, the vessels-of-war which I 
have the honor to represent have come freighted with a 
cargo more precious than the wealth of the Orient or the 
mines of California; but we were not the first to bear 
across the ocean wares as treasured. I shall never forget 
the thrill of joy that pervaded America when the Russian 
fleet, under Admiral Lessovskv, anchored in the harbor 
of ISTew York and spread the glad tidings that one great 
nation sided with us in our troubles. It is always a 
pleasure to renew the remembrance of such national sym¬ 
pathy, and I am rejoiced that the duty of toasting the 
Russian Navy has devolved on me. It is always agree¬ 
able to drink to our friends, our sympathizers, our allies; 
but to one who is the recipient of so much kind attention, 
who has had bestowed upon him and upon the officers 
and crews of his command so much honor and such gen¬ 
erous hospitality, the task becomes doubly agreeable. 
(Cheers.) The time of this company is too precious to 
waste in words which must fail to do justice to this gal¬ 
lant offspring of Peter the Great. Let me point to its 
record, which is illustrated by a Tchesma, a Navarino, 
and a Sinope, and is adorned by such names as its impe¬ 
rial chief, the Grand-duke Constantine, and the heroes 
that I now see around me. I propose ‘ The Russian 
Navy.’ ” 

This speech, which was received with applause, was 
replied to briefly but happily by Admiral Lessovsky. He 
spoke of the warm reception he had received in the United 
States, and expressed his pleasure in having an opportu- 


BANQUET OF THE MERCHANTS’ CLUB. 163 

nity of returning tlie kindness in kis own country. The 
friendship between Russia and America could not but be 
permanent. 

After the punch had passed around, a singing band of 
emancipated serfs, male and female, entertained the com¬ 
pany with the Russian national hymn and “ Hail Co¬ 
lumbia,” singing both in Russian. They were loud¬ 
ly applauded, and obliged to repeat the latter several 
times. 

While the dinner was going on within, a great pop¬ 
ular demonstration was taking place in the streets. The 
space in front of the Club-House and all the avenues of 
approach to it were densely crowded with people of all 
classes, who had gathered to do honor to the Americans. 
Travel was stopped and vehicles were compelled to turn 
into the adjacent streets. Loud calls were made for Mr. 
Fox and for others, and he and our officers were obliged 
to show themselves from time to time on the balcony, 
each appearance being greeted with extraordinary ap¬ 
plause. It was a splendid popular reception, and proved 
how deeply the masses of the Russian people were moved 
by the unprecedented act of our Government in send¬ 
ing its sympathy and congratulations by a special en¬ 
voy. 

Besides the distinguished gentlemen already men¬ 
tioned, there were present at this banquet Prince Michael 
Gortchakoff, the son of the vice-chancellor; Count Schou- 
valoff; Mr. Abaza, Secretary of the Department of Cere¬ 
monies of the Imperial Court; Komissaroff-Kostromsky, 
and many others. 


164 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


The festivities were kept up until a very late hour, but 
Messrs. Fox, Green, and Loubat, and Commanders Mur¬ 
ray and Beaumont, were obliged to leave comparatively 
early, in order to take the train for Krasnoe-Selo, where 
they had been invited by the Emperor, to attend the re¬ 
view of the Imperial Guard on the morrow. 

The card of membership presented to Mr. Fox by the 
club is a beautiful specimen of art, printed in gold and 
colors. At the top, on the right, are the arms of St. 
Petersburg; on the left is the caduceus , the rod of Mer¬ 
cury, the god of merchants, the two being connected by a 
running border. On the back is the following, in Eng¬ 
lish : “ Ticket of Membership for Mr. G. Y. Fox, Assist¬ 
ant Secretary of the United States Navy, Honorary Mem¬ 
ber of the Mercantile Association of St. Petersburg, 
Russia.” 


CHAPTER XI. 


KRASNOE - SELO — MANOEUVRES HONORARY CITIZENSHIP -— 

CATHEDRAE OF PETER AND PAUL-MINING INSTITUTE. 

yj UGUST 1 6th ( 4:th ).—Krasnoe-Selo, or the Red Vil¬ 
lage, the great parade-ground of the Imperial Guard, 
is distant about eighteen miles from St. Petersburg, on 
the line of the Peterhof Railway. The Guards are 
encamped here during the summer months, remaining 
under canvas until some time in August, when they are 
reviewed by the Emperor, and engage in a sham battle. 

Mr. Fox and the gentlemen accompanying him were 
furnished with apartments in the Ambassadors’ House, a 
buildino* belonodno- to the Government. 

CD CD CD 

At nine o’clock in the morning, the weather being ex¬ 
ceptionally fine, the party started in carriages for the field. 
On reaching the ground, Mr. Fox met and conversed with 
the Emperor. His Majesty was exceedingly courteous, 
and showed our representative remarkable attentions. 

The sham battle began at noon. The following pro¬ 
gramme of the manoeuvres distributed on the field shows 
the number of troops engaged, and their respective move¬ 
ments. The original is in French. 


166 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


PROGRAMME OF THE MANOEUVRES. 

The Corps d’Arm6e of the South, coining from Louga, advances in 
two echelons toward St. Petersburg. 

At the beginning of the manoeuvres, the first Echelon, following 
the march of the enemy, takes possession of Krasnoe-Selo. 

The second echelon halts at Sivoritzy. 

The Corps d’Arm6e of the North, which is not so strong as that 
of the South, falls back in presence of the enemy, from Krasnoe-Selo 
upon St. Petersburg, by the highway, and takes position at Ligovo 
(on the line of the railway), to await the arrival of the detachment 
concentrated at Strelna. 

Having received news that the enemy has taken possession with 
a part of his force of Krasnoe-Selo, the two columns of the Army of 
the North attack the enemy vigorously, with the object of destroying 
his army in detail. 


DISTRIBUTION OF THE TROOPS. 

CORPS D’ARMEe OF THE SOUTH. 

Chief of the Second Division of Infantry of the Guard , Aide-de-camp 
General , Baron Bistrom. 

first Echelon. 

Aide-de-camp General, Baron Bistrom. 

Battal- Squad- Pieces, 
ions. rons. 


The Second Division of Infantry of the Guard. 13 

The regiment composed of the Battalion of Instruc¬ 
tion, and of the battalion of the military schools. 2 
The Second Brigade of the Artillery of the Guard 

on foot.. .. .. 12 

The Battery of Instruction on foot. .. .. 4 

The regiments of the Second Division of the Cavalry 

of the Guard. .. 16 

The regiment composed of the Squadron of Instruc¬ 
tion and of those of the School of the Ensign- 
bearers of the Guard. .. 3 







PROGRAMME OF MANOEUVRES. 


1G7 


Two squadrons of the regiment of the Cossacks of 
the Ataman, his Imperial Highness the Heredi¬ 
tary Grand-duke... 

The Battery No. 2, of the Horse Artillery of the 

Guard. 

The Battery of Cossacks. 

The Horse Battery of Instruction. 


Battal¬ 

ions. 

Squad¬ 

rons. 

Pieces. 

• • 

2 

• • 

... 


8 

• . 

• • 

8 

# # 


4 


Total 


15 21 36 


second Echelon. 

Chief ad interim of the Twenty-fourth Division of Infantry, Major- 

General Den. 

The regiment composed of the battalion of the Fin¬ 
land Tirailleurs of the Guard, and of the com¬ 
panies of Tirailleurs of the Infantry Regiments 


Nos. 93 and 88. 3 

The Infantry Regiment No. 94. 3 

“ “ “ No. 95. 3 

The twenty-fourth Brigade of Artillery on foot. .. .. 12 

Total. 9 .. 12 

General total. 24 21 48 


CORPS darmEe op the north. 

Aide-de-camp General, Prince Galitzine. 

DETACHMENT OF LIGOVO. 
Lieutenant-General Drenteln. 


The First Division of Infantry of the Guard. 13 

The Battalion of Sappers of the Guard. 1 

The First Brigade of Artillery of the Guard on foot. .. .. 12 

One squadron of the regiment of the Cossacks of .. .. • • 

the Guard. • • 1 

Total. 14 1 12 

















168 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


DETACHMENT OF STRELNA. 

Lieutenant-General Soukodolsky. 


The battalions of Sappers No. 7, of the Grenadiers 
and of the Reserve. 

Battal¬ 

ions. 

3 

Squad¬ 

rons. 

Pieces. 

The regiment composed of the companies of Tirail¬ 
leurs of the Infantry Regiments Nos. 85, 86, 
and 87. 

3 



The 22d Brigade of Artillery. 

• • 

• • 

12 

The Battery of the Michael School of Artillery. 

. . 

• • 

4 

The regiments of the First Division of Cavalry of the 
Guard. 


16 


One squadron of the regiment of Cossacks of the 
Guard. 


1 


The Battery of Position of the Horse Artillery of the 
Guard. 



8 

The Rifled Battery No. 1 of the Horse Artillery of 
the Guard. 

# # 


8 

Total. 

6 

17 

32 

General Total. . 

20 

18 

44 


Presumed Course of the Manoeuvres. 

First day ( August 2d). Krasnoe-Selo is attacked by the two col¬ 
umns of the Corps d’Armee of the North; a battle takes place near 
Ivrasnoe-Selo; the first Echelon of the Corps d’ArmeS of the South 
retires behind the Poudoste River. 

Second day (August 3d). The Corps d’Arm6e of the North contin¬ 
ues its march ; battle is given on the banks of the Poudoste River. The 
first Echelon of the Corps d’Armge of the South falls back upon the 
second, and retires from Sivoritzy to Gatschino (it is understood that 
the troops stationed at Sivoritzy are unable to take part in the battle 
fought the second day of the manoeuvres). 

Third day (August 4th). The whole Corps d’Arm6e of the South 
energetically takes the offensive. 

It was the manoeuvres of the last day that the mis¬ 
sion witnessed. The battle was a very brilliant specta¬ 
cle, the grand cavalry charges being especially noticeable. 












HONORARY CITIZENSHIP. 


169 


About thirty-five thousand men were engaged in the 
operations, all of them belonging to the Imperial Guard, 
which forms an army by itself, entirely distinct from the 
line, embracing in its ranks every branch of the service. 
All commissioned officers of the Imperial Guard, and all 
officers of the Navy, have the right of going to court in 
Russia; but, in the line regiments, none but officers of 
and above the rank of major have this privilege. 

After dining with a number of the principal officers 
in a pavilion near their quarters, the Americans returned 
to St. Petersburg about four o’clock in the afternoon. 

August Ylth (5 th ).—At nine o’clock a deputation of 
the Mayor and Corporation of St. Petersburg called on 
Mr. Fox to inform him that, by permission of the Em¬ 
peror, he had been elected an honorary citizen of the city. 

In announcing this great honor, the dean of the cor¬ 
poration of hereditary nobles, Mr. Zablotzky-Dessiatovsky, 
spoke as follows: 

“ Through her deans, the city of St. Petersburg bids 
you welcome to the capital of Russia. We are convinced 
that the American people, who have themselves so re¬ 
cently suffered the affliction of a great loss in the person 
of their chief, will appreciate better than others the feel¬ 
ing of joy which filled the hearts of Russians when Provi¬ 
dence averted from them a horrible danger. 

“ Your presence here is another manifestation of the 
interest taken by the American people in the preservation 
of a life so precious to Russians, of the life of him who, by 
great reforms, has given to Russia new vigor in civilization. 


170 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


“ Once more we wish you heartily welcome, and in 
your person we thank the great American people for its 
sentiments toward the Emperor and the Russian people. 

“ In memory of our gratitude, the city of St. Peters¬ 
burg begs you, the Envoy Extraordinary, to accept the 
title of honorary citizen of St. Petersburg.” 

Mr. Fox replied as follows : 

“ Gentlemen, representatives of the city of St. Peters¬ 
burg, my arrival here with the Resolution of the Con¬ 
gress of the United States of America is for every Rus¬ 
sian heart a proof that the danger which menaced the 
life of his Imperial Majesty, and consequently the civili¬ 
zation and progress of the Russian nation, has deeply 
moved the American people. The cordiality with which 
the Russians have received us, the amicable sentiments 
we have exchanged with them, are the sincere expressions 
of our mutual feelings. 

11 1 receive with the deepest gratitude the rare gift 
which the capital confers upon me, with the authorization 
of the Emperor, the title of honorary citizen of St. Peters¬ 
burg. This honor is not addressed to me, but to the en¬ 
tire people of the United States.” 

The diploma of citizenship presented to Mr. Fox is 
engrossed on heavy Bristol-board, within an exquisitely 
executed border in the Byzantine style. In the centre 
of the top of this border are the arms of the city of St. 
Petersburg, with the Slavonic letter “ A,” the initial of 
the Emperor’s name, on each side. On the right corner 
at the top is the Slavonic shield of the middle ages. Next 
below it, on the side, is the cross; under it, in a medal, 


DIPLOMA OF CITIZENSHIP. 


m 


the bust of Alexander II., with the inscription “ Libera¬ 
tor ; ” and, still farther down, the allegorical attributes of 
the arts and sciences. On the left corner, at the top, 
is the cap of Monomachus, worn bj the Russian Czars 
until the time of Peter I. Next below it, on the side, is 
the cross ; under it, in a medal, the bust of Peter the 
Great, with the inscription “ Reformer; ” and, beneath it, 
the allegorical attributes of commerce. At the bottom, 
in the centre of the border, is the seal of the city of St. 
Petersburg, with an engraving of St. Isaac’s cathedral on 
the left, and of the Exchange on the right. 

The inscription, which is in Russian, is translated as 
follows: 

“ The Commonalty of the City of St. Petersburg, with 
the permission of his most gracious Imperial Majesty, has 
nominated Mr. G. V. Fox, Ambassador of the Congress, 
and Assistant Secretary of the Navy, of the United States 
of North America, and Member of the Cabinet of Wash¬ 
ington, an honorary citizen of the City of St. Petersburg, 
as a sign of special respect for him, as the Representative 
of the People of North America, through whom they ex¬ 
pressed their most sincere sympathy toward Russia and 
her Emperor, and in remembrance of the feelings with 
which this declaration was received by the City of St. 
Petersburg. 

“ St. Petersburg, on the 3 d of August , 1866. 

li The Mayor of St. Petersburg : Pogreboff. 

“ Seniors : Zablotzky-Dessiatovsky, Nicolai 
Bykov, Averin. 

“ Secretary of the City : Treville.” 


172 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


The diploma is contained in a splendid case of Sibe¬ 
rian malachite, with ornaments of gilt bronze. In the 
centre of the lid are engraved the arms of the city of St. 
Petersburg. 

Honorary citizenship is one of the greatest distinc¬ 
tions that can be conferred in Russia. It is very rarely 
bestowed, as no city nor municipality has the right to give 
it without unanimity, and the permission and authoriza¬ 
tion of the Emperor. The compliment to Mr. Fox, and 
through him to the people of the United States, whom he 
represented, was, therefore, a notable one. 

During the remainder of the morning, Mr. Fox and 
party visited the Havy-yard and the Sailors’ House of 
Correction ; and, in the afternoon, the museum of the 
Mining Institute, and the fortress and cathedral of St. 
Peter and St. Paul. 

The fortress, on the little island at the junction of the 
Neva and the Little Neva, was begun by Peter the Great 
in 1703. The corner-stone of its cathedral was laid in 
1714, but the building has undergone various changes. 
The present spire, which is one of the most beautiful in 
the city, was erected in 1772. It is the tallest in Russia, 
with the exception of the one at Revel, the- cross on its 
summit being three hundred and eighty-seven feet above 
the ground. Under its floor repose the bodies of all the 
Emperors of Russia, excepting Peter II., who is buried in 
Moscow. 

The walls of the cathedral are hung with trophies 
captured from the many nations with which Russia has 
warred. Flags, standards, and pennons, float above the 


HOUSE OF PETER THE GREAT. 


173 


tombs; and shields, lances, swords, and the keys of for¬ 
tresses, are disposed among them in many effective forms. 

The Imperial Mint stands within the walls of the for¬ 
tress, the gloomy casemates of which are used as a state- 
prison. 

Mot far from the fortress stands the cottage built by 
Peter the Great, in 1703, the first building erected on the 
banks of the Meva at the time of the founding of the city. 
Like all the other relics of the author of Russia’s great¬ 
ness, it is religiously preserved, the entire house being 
covered with a casing to protect it from the elements. It 
contains but two rooms and a kitchen. In one of them, 
now used as a chapel, is the miraculous picture of the 
Saviour, which accompanied Peter in almost all of his 
campaigns. It was to this chapel that Komissaroff was 
going when he was turned back providentially in time to 
save the Emperor’s life. 

One of the most interesting of the relics in the house 
is the boat called in Russia Dedouchha Russkago Flota 
(Dear Grandfather of the Russian Fleet), from which 
Peter the Great conceived the idea of forming a navy. 
The remains of the sails, and every thing connected with 
the little vessel, are preserved with the greatest care. 

The Mining Institute is a Government school for the 
education of mining-engineers. Its pupils, about two 
hundred and fifty in number, dress in uniform, and 
are subject to military rules. Its mineralogical collec¬ 
tion is one of the most valuable in the world, the speci¬ 
mens of the more costly productions of Mature being un¬ 
equalled. In the garden of the school is a model of a 


174 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


mine, and of the machinery used in working it. Visitors 
are led by guides, with lighted tapers, through its devious 
underground passages, and shown the different metallifer¬ 
ous deposits, and the methods of extracting the ores. The 
school-building is a large and imposing structure, near the 
western end of Vassilievsky Island. 


CHAPTER XII. 


DINNER OF THE GOOD-BIRTH SOCIETY - POEM OF OLIVER 

WENDELL HOLMES. 

TN the afternoon of the same day, at five o’clock, Hr. 
-L Fox and party went to dine with the Gentlemen’s 
Club, or Good-birth Society (Blagorodnoe Sobranie), of 
St. Petersburg, at their beautiful summer pavilion on the 
estate of the Countess Strogonoff. 

The cards of invitation, printed in Russian, read as 
follows : 


GOOD-BIRTH SOCIETY 

Of St. Petersburg. 

(Villa of the Countess Strogonoff.) 


DINNER GIVEN IN HONOR OF TEE AMBASSADOR OF TEE 
UNITED STATES OF NORTE AMERICA. 

August 5, 1866, 6 o’Clock. 

Director , G. Zoubinbky. 


When the carriages drove up to the gates of the villa, 
the Americans were agreeably surprised to find the entire 


176 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


club, numbering three hundred gentlemen, in waiting to 
receive them. A great crowd of spectators also had gath¬ 
ered along the river-bank, anxious to welcome the stran¬ 
gers. 

As Mr. Fox stepped from his carriage, a band of mu¬ 
sic, concealed behind a neighboring trellis, played “ Hail 
Columbia,” and Mr. Zoubinsky, the director of the soci¬ 
ety, bade him welcome, at the same time offering bread 
and salt, according to the Russian custom. The assem¬ 
bled members followed with a friendly hurrah, which was 
echoed by the spectators at the gates, and the guests 
passed into the gardens of the park. 

After partaking of the usual “ zakuska,” which was 
spread in the dancing-pavilion, guests and hosts passed 
through the garden and into another tent, where dinner 
awaited them. Both the garden and the gallery of the 
house were adorned with costly plants. The interior of 
the dining-pavilion resembled a garden, so filled was it 
with shrubs and flowers. From above hung garlands and 
wreaths, entwined wdth the national colors of the two 
countries. On the right side, in a niche among the mass 
of verdure, was a large bust of the Emperor, and on the 
left were portraits of Washington, Lincoln, and Johnson. 
In two galleries, opposite each other, and almost hidden 
in greens and flowers, were stationed the bands, one mili¬ 
tary and one orchestral. Lamps and lustres, tastefully dis¬ 
tributed among the decorations, shed a soft light through¬ 
out the tent. 

The tables were arranged in the shape of the letter E, 
the Americans being placed at the principal one, directly 


DINNER OF THE GOOD-BIRTH SOCIETY. 


177 


opposite the bust of the Emperor. Care was taken that 
each should have next to him a Russian who could speak 
English. The dinner was thus made exceedingly agree¬ 
able, and more like a party of friends than a formal re¬ 
ception of strangers. 

The menu , neatly printed in black, on glazed board, 
in both Russian and English, was as follows: 


August 5, 1866. 

DINNER 

OP THE ST. PETERSBURG SOCIETY OF NOBLES. 

Soup. 

Pastry. 

Chine of beef, with truffles and vegetables. 

Steamed sterlet, with champagne. 

Creamed partridges, with truffles. 

Young peas and artichokes and white mushrooms. 

Imperial punch. 

Roasts : snipe, partridges, sea-snipe, etc., with Italian salad. 
Iced Madelen of fresh fruit, peaches, apricots, and pineapples. 
Fruit. 

Coffee and tea. 


Soon after the dinner began, Mr. Domontovitch spoke 
as follows, in the Russian language : 

u Much-esteemed Mr. Fox and gentlemen Americans: 
This year our country has experienced an extraordinary 
national acknowledgment of sympathy and friendship. 
At the command of your great country of the two 
oceans, you, her plenipotentiary, have made a long voy¬ 
age across the sea to lay her congratulations before our 
Emperor, and to express the heart-felt good wishes of her 
people. 


12 


178 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


“ We were impatient to see you, of whom we always 
thought well. Dear guests, although you are far away 
from your own land, you are in a land near neighbor to 
yours in sentiment. You have brought the sympathizing 
congratulations of your mighty nation to our adored Em¬ 
peror (Gosudar), nay, to the whole Russian people, hut 
now preserved from a sore affliction by the mercy of Di¬ 
vine Providence. Your coming, your heart-felt address 
on your arrival, your salutes at Cronstadt, every thing so 
handsomely done, has won our love. In houses, in mar¬ 
kets, in streets, everywhere, meet and follow you the 
cheers and greetings of Russians. And we, who are but 
a small part of the Russian race, we too give you our 
friendlv greeting. 

“ It would take long to explain how this friendly alli¬ 
ance began, that has grown up and become so strong be¬ 
tween the American and the Russian nations, almost un¬ 
consciously to both. Nobody will deny that here is the 
mutual sympathy of exalted souls, that here is the foun¬ 
dation of a lasting attachment. Under its influence, dear 
guests, we not only esteem you, we love you. Your sor¬ 
rows and your joys never passed by us uncared for. The 
melancholy death of your illustrious President, we in 
Russia have not forgotten it, was heard of by us with real 
sympathy. ¥e remember, too, with what enthusiasm we 
Russians watched your efforts to destroy the remnant of 
barbarism on your own soil, your enormous sacrifices to 
effect this, and the exploits of your heroes who, for this 
end, laid down their lives at Charleston, Mobile, New Or¬ 
leans, and so many other places. We account it our dis- 


DINNER OF THE GOOD-BIRTII SOCIETY. 


179 


tinguislied good-fortune to be able to tell personally, in 
living, lieart-felt speech, the representatives of your 
mighty nation our admiration of her heroic efforts, and 
to congratulate her on the glorious deeds which she 
achieved. 

“ From our deepest Russian soul we thank you, much- 
esteemed and dear guests, for this solemn national visit to 
our land, and for this your congratulation of the Russian 
people and of our adored Emperor, who has received the 
sympathy of both hemispheres. From a sincere heart we 
wish to you and to your country all prosperity and happi¬ 
ness, as to the best friends of our native land. The broth¬ 
erly welcome that we now give you is echoed on the banks 
of the Volga and Ural, and we trust that it is answered 
on the Mississippi and Missouri. May it be well with the 
United States and with Russia, may both countries stand 
at the head of the world, and may this American-Russian 
friendship flourish and grow stronger, both in our day 
and in the days of our most distant posterity! ” 

After this speech, Mr. Zoubinsky gave the first regu¬ 
lar toast: “ To the health of the President of the United 
States of America, and to the good-fortune and grandeur 
of the American nation. God grant that this disinter¬ 
ested, warm, and ancient friendship of America and Rus¬ 
sia may have no end ! ” 

This toast was received with cheers, and the following 
telegram was at once dispatched to President Johnson, at 
Washington: 


180 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


“ The gentlemen of the St. Petersburg Good-birth 
Society, at an entertainment in honor of Mr. Fox, Envoy 
of the American Congress, are drinking the health of 
your Excellency, and to the happiness of the great Amer¬ 
ican people. May the friendship of America and Russia 
endure forever! ” 

Mr. Fox responded as follows : 

“ The words of the speaker have not been translated 
for me, but it is impossible that I should not comprehend 
their signification, interpreting them by the hearty wel¬ 
come that everywhere greets the mention of my country, 
its people, and the President. In answer to that speech, 
I have something agreeable to offer; but, first, let me say 
that though our language, laws, customs, and religious 
forms, separate us, to-night our hearts respond in har¬ 
mony to one sentiment—mutual regard for the first and 
best of men, the Emperor Alexander II.” 

"When the enthusiastic cheering that followed these 
words had subsided, Mr. Fox continued : “ I allude to 
some verses, written especially for an occasion of this 
kind, by one of America’s most fascinating poets, Oliver 
Wendell Holmes, who was kind enough to send me the 
lines before I left England on my way to Russia.” 

Mr. Fox then read the following poem in English : 

POEM. 

Though watery deserts hold apart 
The worlds of East and West, 

Still beats the self-same human heart 
In each proud nation’s breast. 


POEM OF OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. 


181 


Our floating turret tempts the main, 

And dares the howling blast, 

To clasp more close the golden chain 
That long has bound them fast. 

In vain the gales of ocean sweep, 

In vain the billows roar, 

That chafe the wild and stormy steep 
Of storied Elsinore ! 

She comes ! she comes ! her banner dips 
In Neva’s flashing tide, 

With greeting on her cannon’s lips, 

The storm-god’s iron bride. 

Peace garlands with the olive-bough 
Her thunder-bearing tower, 

And plants before her cleaving prow 
The sea-foam’s milk-white flower. 

No prairies heaped their garnered store 
To fill her sunless hold ; 

Nor rich Nevada’s gleaming ore 
Its hidden caves enfold. 

But lightly as the sea-bird swings 
She floats the depth above, 

A breath of flame to lend her wings, 

Her freight a people’s love. 

When darkness hid the stormy skies 
In war’s long winter night, 

One ray still cheered our straining eyes, 
The far-off Northern light. 

And now the friendly rays return, 

From lights that glow afar, 

Those clustered lamps of heaven that burn 
Around the Western star. 

A nation’s love in tears and smiles 
We bear across the sea; 

0 Neva of the hundred isles, 

We moor our hearts in thee ! 


182 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


Three cheers were given immediately for the Ameri¬ 
can poet, Oliver Wendell Holmes. 

Mr. Maikoff followed Mr. Fox with a Russian ver¬ 
sion of the poem, which he had translated for the oc¬ 
casion. The rapture of the listeners appeared to be 
boundless, and so pronounced were the encores that he 
was obliged to read it a second time, after which the com¬ 
pany testified their gratitude in the Russian fashion—they 
tossed him in the air. 

Toasts followed to the Empress, the Hereditary Grand- 
duke, his newly-affianced bride, the Princess Dagmar, and 
to all of the reigning house. 

Mr. Zoubinsky next toasted Mr. Fox, and read an ad¬ 
dress, asking him to accept, as the representative of the 
American people, the honorary membership of the So¬ 
ciety. 

To which Mr. Fox replied : 

“ Gentlemen, although it is probable that, after going 
back to America, I may never return and renew my 
acquaintance with the members of this Society, neverthe¬ 
less I shall preserve a warm interest in the happiness and 
prosperity of the club, and remember with satisfaction 
the day spent here in your hospitable rooms.” 

Mr. Clay, in answer to a toast to himself, gave one to 
the Russian aristocracy ( dvorianstvo ), eulogizing them for 
so willingly sacrificing their individual interests to secure 
the success of the Emperor’s projected system of equality. 

After this came a toast to the prosperity and grandeur 
of Russia, with which Mr. Zoubinsky coupled the pros¬ 
perity of the United States. Others followed to the 


DINNER OF THE GOOD-BIRTH SOCIETY. 


183 


officers of the American squadron, to the Russian Navy, 
to the Russian ladies, to the family of Mr. Fox, to Kom- 
misaroff-Kostromsky, who was present, and to other 
guests. 

The company arose from dinner at half-past eight and 
adjourned to the gardens, where a brilliant illumination 
met their eyes. The principal building of the club and 
the pavilion were aglow with tires, the terraces and the 
trees blazed with innumerable lights of many colors, and 
all the main alleys of the gardens were hung with lan¬ 
terns and transparencies. The grounds of the villa were 
filled with people from the neighboring country resi¬ 
dences, and, as the crowd moved to and fro through the 
illuminated paths, the scene was enchanting. 

Unfortunately, the wind rose and a little rain fell 
about nine o’clock, and the guests were obliged to seek 
the pavilions; but it was soon over, the skies cleared 
again, and the scene without became as brilliant as 
before. 

Dancing began in the pavilion at an early hour, and 
soon became animated, the ladies, who had joined the 
party after the dinner, doing all in their power to render 
the fete a success. The crowd upon the floor was great, 
but it only added to the gayety. Such of the ladies as 
could speak English chatted merrily with the Americans, 
and challenged them to the dance, so that the entertain¬ 
ment assumed the character of a meeting of intimate 
friends. 

At half-past eleven Mr. Fox bade his kind hosts fare¬ 
well. Almost everybody present accompanied him to 


184 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


his carriage, tlie military band meanwhile playing our 
national air. In the court-yard blazed great vases of col¬ 
ored fires, and Bengal lights lit his road from the park to 
the StrogonofF bridge. 

A number of the Americans remained later, and the 
fete did not close until long after midnight. 

The Russian Society in Warsaw sent to the Gentle¬ 
men’s Club a telegram, giving a friendly salutation to the 
mission, to which Mr. Fox responded appropriately. 

The card of honorary membership of the Gentlemen’s 
Club, presented to Mr. Fox, reads as follows: 

“ To the Envoy of the American Congress , Assistant Secretary of the 

Navy of the North American States , Member of the Washington 

Cabinet , Mr. Fox : 

“ The St. Petersburg Good-birth Society (Gentlemen’s 
Club) receiving this 5th of August, 1866, their friends, 
gentlemen of the United States of America, and anxious 
to preserve the remembrance of this fortunate day, ask 
you, Mr. Fox, as the representative of your nation, to 
accept the position of an Honorary Member of our 
Society. 


“ Director , G. Zoubinsky.” 


CHAPTER XIII. 


RECEPTIONS ON THE MIANTONOMOH-PRESENTATIONS AT 

COURT-RACES AT CZARSKOE-SELO-DINNER OF MER¬ 

CHANTS 5 SOCIETY OF MUTUAL ASSISTANCE. 

TJG UST 1 Sth (6th ).—Saturday opened with a heavy 
rain. Arrangements had been made, the day before, 
to receive the diplomatic corps and some ladies of the 
court on board the Miantonomoh, and Mr. Fox went 
to Cronstadt for that purpose. About three o’clock the 
diplomats, accompanied by General Clay, came down 
from Peterliof in the Admiralty yacht. Mr. Fox, Com¬ 
manders Murray and Beaumont, and the officers of the 
squadron, received them with the honors due to their 
rank, and offered them every facility to examine the 
monitor. 

At the head of the diplomatic corps was the ambas¬ 
sador of France, Baron de Talleyrand, of the family of 
the famous Talleyrand. There came also the minister of 
Ptaly, the minister of Sweden, the minister of Portugal, 
Mr. de Muruaga, charge d’affaires of Spain (the ambassa¬ 
dor being absent), the two secretaries of the Prussian 


186 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


legation (the minister also being absent), and a number 
of other secretaries and attaches. 

Mr. Fox, Mr. Clay, and Commanders Murray and 
Beaumont, were obliged to excuse themselves after greet¬ 
ing the distinguished visitors, as they had an engagement 
to attend the annual dinner of the Preobrajensky Regi- 
ment, at Krasnoe-Selo, at which the Emperor was expect¬ 
ed to be present. The diplomats were left, therefore, in 
charge of Mr. Loubat, who explained to them the method 
of working the turrets and the gun-machinery, and showed 
them every thing of interest in the ship. 

The Preobrajensky (Transfiguration) Regiment is one 
of the two oldest military organizations in Russia—it and 
the Semenovsky Regiment having been founded by Peter 
the Great, who served in the former through all the 
grades from private to colonel. With these two regi¬ 
ments the Czar destroyed the turbulent guards called 
Streltzi (archers, from strela, an arrow), formed by Ivan 
the Terrible in the latter part of the sixteenth century. 
Peter the Great was aided in this by a part of the Streltzi, 
which, under command of Colonel Sokoleff, remained 
faithful, and turned their weapons against their insurgent 
brethren. 

The Preobrajensky Regiment always observes its an¬ 
niversary by a grand dinner, which is usually attended 
by the Emperor. Unfortunately, Mr. Fox and party 
arrived in the city too late to take the train for Krasnoe- 
Selo, and missed this interesting festival, much to their 
regret. 

After the departure from the Miantonomoh of the dip- 


LADIES ON THE MONITOR. 


187 


lomatic body, the weather having become pleasanter, 
some ladies of the court, accompanied by Rear-Admiral 
Prince Galitzine and others, came from Peterhof in a 
yacht belonging to the Navy Department. Their visit 
was made as agreeable as possible, the gentlemen on 
board doing their utmost to entertain them, and ex¬ 
tending to the party all the pleasant courtesies which 
naval officers are so familiar with. They appeared to 
enjoy the occasion, notwithstanding the unpropitious 
skies. 

Among the visitors was the charming young Countess 
Apraxine, the daughter of Count Ivan Apraxine, grand- 
equerry of the Emperor, who attracted particular at¬ 
tention. She was most becominglv dressed in what one 
may call, very properly, the American costume, inas¬ 
much as it represented the flag of our country. The 
bodice was blue, spangled with stars, and the skirt of al¬ 
ternate stripes of red and white. A sailor’s hat, prettily 
trimmed with ribbons, and with the name “ Miantono- 
moh ” across the front, completed her costume, which at¬ 
tracted admiring eyes wherever she went. 

Admiral Galitzine invited Mr. Loubat to go back to 
St. Petersburg with him on his yacht. The party, after 
leaving the Miantonomoh, went on board of the Gorno- 
stay, a gunboat about to sail for the Amoor River. She 
was commanded b} r Lieutenant Liitke, aide-de-camp of 
the Grand-duke Constantine, and son of Admiral Liitke, 
who had charge of the Grand-duke’s education. After a 
short visit on the vessel, where they were received most 
courteously, the party returned to the city. 


188 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


August 19 th (7th ).—At ten o’clock in the morning, 
the mission went by rail to Peterhof, to be presented to 
her Imperial Majesty the Empress. The presentation 
took place in the palace at half-past twelve, through Mr. 
Clay, the American minister. The party thus honored 
consisted of Mr. Fox, Messrs. Green and Loubat, and Com¬ 
manders Murray and Beaumont, all of whom had been 
presented to the Emperor on the day of the presentation 
to his Imperial Majesty of the Resolution of Congress. 

The Empress received the gentlemen most graciously, 
addressing a few words to each in English. 

At the same time, Lieutenant-Commanders Cornwell 
and Pritchett, Messrs. Post, Adams, Lattimer, and Saw¬ 
yer, of the American squadron, and Dr. Thomas D. 
Evans, of Paris, who had just been appointed by Gen¬ 
eral Clay temporary attache of the United States Lega¬ 
tion, were formally presented to his Imperial Majesty the 
Emperor : and immediately afterward the same gentle¬ 
men had the honor of a presentation to the Empress. 

From the palace of Peterhof, Mr. Fox, Commanders 
Murray and Beaumont, and Messrs. Green and Loubat, 
accompanied by Mr. Clay, went to Znamensky, the palace 
of the Grand-duke Nicholas, brother of the Emperor, 
where they were presented to his wife, the Grand-duchess 
Alexandra Petrovna. 

The palace is beautifully situated on a high embank¬ 
ment on the road leading from the private grounds at 
Peterhof. 

The party went thence to the country palace of the 
Grand-duchess Marie Nicliolaevna, sister of the Emperor, 













RACES AT CZARSKOE-SELO. 


189 


where they had the honor of presentation to her Imperial 
Highness, and to the Princess Eugenie of Leuchtenberg. 

The Princess Eugenie is the third child and second 
daughter of the Grand-ducliess Marie by her first mar¬ 
riage. She married, January 7, 1868, Alexander Fred¬ 
erick Constantine, Prince of Oldenburg. 

Mr. Fox and the gentlemen accompanying him had 
the honor of lunching with their Imperial Highnesses the 
Grand-ducliess Marie and her daughter, after which they 
returned to St. Petersburg. 

In the afternoon, some of the American officers at¬ 
tended the races at Czarskoe-Selo. The Emperor and 
several of the imperial family were present, and the tri¬ 
bunes and the galleries were filled by the elite of St. 
Petersburg society. Our officers were assigned a stand 
on the right of that of the Emperor. The race was con¬ 
ducted in the English manner, the jockeys were all Eng¬ 
lish, and the English language was heard on all sides. 
The return from the races to the Vauxhall, at the rail¬ 
way-station, was a brilliant and exciting spectacle. The 
road was filled with splendid equipages carrying fair ladies 
and dazzling uniforms, many of the teams being harnessed 
three abreast in the Russian style, and all driving at the 
top of their speed. 

At six o’clock of the same day Mr. Fox, Messrs. 
Green and Loubat, Commanders Murray and Beaumont, 
General Clay, Mr. Curtin, and a number of officers of 
the ships, dined with the Russian Merchants’ Society for 
Mutual Assistance, at their summer-house, near the Strog- 
onoff bridge, on one of the islands in the Neva. 


190 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


The dinner-tables were set in a great tent used ordina¬ 
rily by the club for a dancing-hall. Large as it was, it 
could scarcely contain the members and the guests, who 
numbered more than four hundred. It was decorated 
with garlands and wreaths of oak-leaves, and with the na¬ 
tional colors of the two countries. At one end was hung 
the portrait of the Emperor, surrounded with wreaths of 
flowers. 

Unfortunately, the rain, which had fallen at intervals 
all day, increased in the evening, and interfered seriously 
with the illumination of the grounds. The fireworks, 
which had been prepared for the occasion, had to be post¬ 
poned, disappointing a large number of spectators who 
had gathered to witness them. 

The bill of fare of this dinner was as follows : 


THE RUSSIAN MERCHANTS’ SOCIETY FOR MUTUAL ASSISTANCE. 

Dinner of August V, 1866. 

Potage k l’Americaine. 

Potage k la Royale. 

Petits patds. 

Salade de Terchis et queues d’ecrevisses. 

Sauce Ravigote. 

Filet de boeuf la Monitor. 

Sauce Montpensier et truffles. 

Filets de volailles et de gelinottes. 

Chouxfleurs et artichaux. 

Punch Victoria. 

Rots. 

Poulets, gelinottes, et brianaux. 

Salade. 

Plombiere aux fruits. 

Dessert. 


DINNER OF SOCIETY FOR MUTUAL ASSISTANCE. 191 


During the dinner the orchestra played the following- 
music : 

PROGRAMME. 

1. Le 19 fevrier, marche dedi6e h S. M. l’Empereur . . Reinbold. 

2. Bouquet de melodies Americaines .... Reinbold. 

3. Ouverture de Semiramis. Rossini. 

4. Le Yol de la Colombe (valse). Farbach. 

5. “ Columbia,” quadrille sur des motifs Americains . . Reinbold. 

6. La Belle Amazone, piece de caractere .... Leschhorn. 

V. Le Reveil du Lion, caprice heroique . Kontski. 


As soon as the champagne was brought on, Mr. La- 
potnikoff proposed a toast “to the health of the President 
of the United States, to the health of all the Members of 
Congress, and to the prosperity and progress of the Ameri¬ 
can nation.” 

Mr. Fox replied to this toast by giving one to the 
health of the Emperor, adding : “ I see before me the por¬ 
trait of a great sovereign. That portrait is decorated with 
flowers, emblems of peace and kindly feeling, and signifi¬ 
cant, I trust, of the future relations of Russia and Amer- 

• 55 

ica. 

The usual toasts to the Empress, the hereditary Grand- 
duke, and to all the imperial family, were received, like 
the others, with hearty Russian cheers. Mr. Lapotnikofl 
then proposed the health of Mr. Fox, for which the lat¬ 
ter returned his thanks and said : “ "We are the guests 
of a society whose designation is ‘ mutual assistance.’ 
May these words be prophetic of the future moral rela¬ 
tions of Russia and America ! The significant sympathies 
which Russia offered to the United States during our 


192 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


struggle for the Union will always be remembered and re¬ 
ciprocated.” 

General Clay made a speech, in response to a personal 
toast, in which he remarked that “ many foreigners look 
at the friendship of Russia and America as artificial and 
chimerical. Let them look at the Russian and the Ameri¬ 
can monitors at Cronstadt, and they will be convinced that 
that friendship is neither artificial nor chimerical.” In 
conclusion, Mr. Clay proposed the health of his friend Gen¬ 
eral Khrouleff, to which that gentleman replied with kind 
expressions for the future of the United States, and with 
wishes for continual friendship between the two nations. 

Mr. Kokoreff, of Moscow, then arose and said : 

“ At the dinner given by the Merchants’ Club of St. 
Petersburg to our dear transatlantic guests, we raised our 
glasses in honor of the authors of the national mission 
to Russia — the members of the American Congress. 
Moved by the succession of great festivals, we have not 
yet mentioned the origin of this mission. It is impossi¬ 
ble not to be touched by this event. Men separated from 
us.by wide oceans have felt the need of coming to us to 
express their joy at the preservation of the priceless life 
of our Emperor. Whence comes this mutual brotherly 
feeling, this expanding friendship, which has proved so 
strong ? 

“ The monitor, invented for the destruction of man¬ 
kind, has been charged by the American Congress with 
the duty of conveying those who express the holy feeling 
of brotherly love. In vain, for ten days and nights, did 
the waters sweep the deck of this iron ark which carried 


DINNER OF SOCIETY FOR MUTUAL ASSISTANCE. 193 

the ambassador. The ceaseless fury of the waves could 
not prevent the transmission to Russia of the feelings of 
joy and friendship for the Emperor and for his people. 
The cause which produced those feelings arose simulta¬ 
neously in both countries : it was the desire of giving to 
each the right of free labor. 

“ In what did the Americans and the Russians resem¬ 
ble each other at this time ? The former did not regret 
the blood of noble sons shed to obtain this right; and, in 
Russia, the nobility, who owned the serfs, did not regret 
the sacrifice of material interests which enabled them to 
fulfil the act of humanity and the wish of the Emperor. 
This sacrifice of interests proves the great and unmis¬ 
takable prerogative of Russia before all other nations. 
And the citizens of the United States could not acknowl¬ 
edge (let us say it with pride) the men who were averse 
to those feelings. 

“ The estimation of these deeds, in America and in 
Russia, though different in their results, yet equal in their 
motives, is the task of history. It is our duty to honor 
the cause of the brotherly union of the Americans and the 
Russians. 

“ I offer, therefore, a united toast to ( the health and 
long: life of all those who, in America as well as in Rus- 
sia, have sacrificed their interests for the abolition of 
slavery and of serfdom.’ ” 

Soon after the dinner the dances began, and they were 
kept up until two o’clock in the morning. It was esti¬ 
mated that more than two thousand persons were present 
at this fete. 


13 


194 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


Mr. Fox and party having been invited by the Em¬ 
peror to attend a military review on the morrow, he, to¬ 
gether with Commanders Murray and Beaumont and 
Messrs. Green and Loubat, left the scene of festivity, in 
company with General Clay and Admiral Lessovsky, at 
nine o’clock, and took the train for Krasnoe-Selo. They 
reached their destination in a heavy rain, and were as¬ 
signed rooms in the Ambassadors’ House, as before. 

On this day Commander Murray received news of his 
promotion to the rank of captain, and received the con¬ 
gratulations of his friends, both Russians and Americans. 


CHAPTER XIY. 


REVIEW AT KRASNOE-SELO -MR. GROMOFF’s FETE -NAVAL 

REVIEW-THE IMPERIAL DINNER-BALL AT TIIE ENG¬ 

LISH PALACE. 

TIG JJST 20 th (8th ).—Monday morning gave little 
promise of a successful review, the clouds still hang¬ 
ing low and the rain falling. But, about eleven o’clock, 
the rain ceased, and the party drove out in carriages to 
the field. Positions were assigned them on the mound, 
on the edge of the field, which overlooks the whole plain. 
The Imperial Guard, was drawn up in front on the three 
sides of a hollow square. 

The Russian Imperial Guard, although belonging to 
the regular army, forms an organization of its own. 
Since the reconstruction of the army, it alone has pre¬ 
served the name of corps, the line in time of peace 
being divided into divisions. It forms a part of the 
troops of the military circumscription of St. Petersburg, 
and its officers have peculiar privileges, as stated be¬ 
fore. It comprises twelve regiments of infantry, four 
battalions of chasseurs, twelve regiments of cavalry, and 
nine batteries of artillery, numbering in all over forty 


196 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


thousand men. The cavalry of the Guard forms two divis¬ 
ions. The first division comprises four regiments of 
cuirassiers, two regiments of Cossacks, a half-squadron of 
gendarmes, and a squadron of the body-guard, the latter 
composed entirely of noble Circassians, or Tcherkess. 1 
The second division has two regiments of dragoons, two 
of lancers, and two of hussars. 

At this review, after which the Guard leaves its 
summer camp and goes into its regular quarters, the 
Emperor distributes decorations, and promotes merito¬ 
rious officers. His Majesty, attended by a brilliant staff, 
rides around the inside of the square. As he passes each 
regiment he salutes it with the words: “ Zdorovo rebi- 
ata ”—Good-day, children—the flag meanwhile being 
dipped, and the band playing the national hymn. The 
soldiers reply in unison : “ Zdravia gelaem vasche Impe- 
ratorskoe Velichestvo ”—Good health to your Imperial 
Majesty. 

After this ceremony, on the present occasion, the Em¬ 
press, accompanied by her ladies in waiting, rode around 
the field in a carriage, escorted by the Emperor and his 
staff. The imperial progress was attended by the music 
of the bands, and by the cheers of the soldiery. 

The Empress and her ladies then left the carriages, 
and came to the pavilion on the mound, and the Emperor 
and his staff, still on horseback, took a position in front. 
All the troops then marched by, with bands playing and 

1 Circassia is properly Tcherkessia, or Tcherkeskai'a, a name given to the 
country by the Tartars. The Circassians call themsolves Adighe, “ the 
noble.” 


MR. GROMOFF’S FETE. 


197 


colors flying, the regiments cheering as they passed. The 
Cossaclcs ot the Guard went by on the charge, the bands 
playing ‘ £ Yankee Doodle.” 

When the review was ended, the Emperor came to 
the pavilion, and lunch was served. Mr. Fox was invited 
to a seat at his Majesty’s table. Besides the Emperor and 
the Empress, there were present at the same table, the 
Grand-duke Nicholas Nicholaevitcli, the Grand-ducliess 
Alexandra Josefovna, wife of the Grand-duke Constan¬ 
tine Nicolaevitch, and the British ambassador, Sir An¬ 
drew Buchanan. 

Mr. Fox and party returned to St. Petersburg at four 
o’clock, and dined at six o’clock with Mr. Winans, of 
Baltimore, the well-known contractor, who has had much 
to do with the construction of Russian railways. 

At nine o’clock all attended a fete given in honor of 
the mission, by Mr. Gromoflf, one of Russia’s wealthiest 
merchants, at his country residence at the islands, in the 
suburbs of St. Petersburg. This entertainment, which 
cost more than forty thousand rubles, was equal to 
any which the Americans attended. Mr. Gromoff’s spa¬ 
cious and beautiful villa is noted for the elegance of its 
surroundino-s. Its hot-houses have a well-deserved celeb- 

o 

rity in St. Petersburg. But the principal charm of this 
place is its magnificent park, whose extent, natural beauty, 
and artistic development, render it a most agreeable and 
attractive summer resort. 

On the night of the reception of our mission, the 
lawn before the house was set with a great number of 
lanterns, of all colors, arranged so as to form many beau- 


19S 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


tiful and appropriate designs. In the centre appeared the 
legend, “ Russia-America—1863-1866,” the dates of the 
reciprocal national visits. Elsewhere were seen, in colors 
of fire, the star-spangled banner, the shields of the two 
countries, and many other figures. Farther on, in a 
building hung with hundreds of lanterns, a military band 
was playing. The bridges of the canal which crosses the 
park were also illuminated; and a beautiful grotto, and 
fountains and cascades, lit with fires, lent enchantment 
to the scene. The night was cloudy, but fortunately no 
rain fell. 

The interior of the mansion was lighted even more 
elaborately than the grounds around it. A distinguished 
company was assembled in its parlors, among whom were 
the Minister of the Interior, Privy Councillor Valoueff; 
the Minister of the Finances, Privy Councillor de Reu- 
tern; the Minister of the Demesnes, Lieutenant-General 
Zelenoy ; Vice-Admiral Crabbe ; and Rear-Admirals Les- 
sovsky and Popoff. 

Dancing began immediately after the arrival of the 
Americans, and was continued until midnight, when the 
guests were invited up-stairs to supper. Mr. Gromoff 
proposed the health of Mr. Fox, and of the gentlemen ac¬ 
companying him, adding a few complimentary remarks, 
to which Mr. Fox replied : 

“ I drink to our host, Mr. Gromoff, whose charming 
entertainment has given us so much pleasure. Thick 
clouds are overhead obscuring the heavens, but, in look¬ 
ing out on these illuminated grounds, it seems as if the 
stars had fallen upon them, and when I cast my eyes 


NAVAL REVIEW. 


199 


around this table, and see the beautiful faces of the Rus¬ 
sian ladies, I can believe that the angels have come down 
to bless our meeting with their presence.” 

The ladies waved their handkerchiefs and clapped 
their hands in acknowledgment of this gallant speech. 

After supper more dancing took place, but it was soon 
interrupted by an invitation to listen to a singer from the 
Don, a young man who possessed a remarkable voice. He 
sang the Russian airs with much expression, and received 
frequent congratulations and applause. Mr. Gromoff 
himself then played on the piano our national air, when 
the guests again took possession of the ballroom, and 
danced until a late hour. 

On the departure of the Americans, Mr. Gromoff 
begged each to accept a photographic view of his resi¬ 
dence and a card-photograpli of himself, which were 
gratefully received. To Mr. Fox he presented a superb 
malachite album. 

August 21 st (9th ).—Tuesday morning opened cloudy, 
but without rain. At half-past eight o’clock Mr. Fox 
and Commander Beaumont 1 left, with Admiral Lessov- 
sky, on the steam-yacht Onega to Peterhof, where, by spe¬ 
cial invitation, they went on board the Emperor’s yacht 
Alexandria. At ten o’clock his Majesty, accompanied by 
his brother, the Grand-duke Nicholas, and attended by 
his suite, came aboard, and, escorted by the steamers 
Strelna, Neva, and Onega, steamed for Cronstadt. On 
the imperial yacht were also General Baron Manteuffel, 

1 Captain Murray was prevented from attending by illness. 


200 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


aicle-de-camp of tlie King of Prussia, who was on a spe¬ 
cial mission to the Emperor of Russia ; Admiral Crabbe; 
General Milutine, Minister of War; General Todtleben; 
Prince Galitzine, and others. 

On arriving in the eastern roadstead the Emperor was 
received by Admiral Hovossilsky, and by the chief of the 
staff, who had come down by the steamer Petersburg. The 
Emperor and his suite, accompanied by Mr. Fox and Com¬ 
mander Beaumont, went on board the transport Ghiliak, 
just returned from a long voyage, and afterward on board 
the sloop-of-war Gornostay, the corvette Griden, and the 
clipper Ysadnik, the last three being about to sail for the 
Pacific. 

On the Emperor’s return to the Alexandria, he gave 
orders bv signal to the monitor Lava to weigh anchor, 
and to attack the Smertcb, a turret-ship on the Cole’s 
system. The monitor obeyed orders, sailed around the 
Smertch, delivered several broadsides of blank cartridges, 
and returned to her anchorage. The whole manoeuvre 
lasted only twenty-three minutes. On another signal 
from the Alexandria, the Lava showed how a fire on 
board is extinguished. 

The Emperor, having expressed his satisfaction at the 
movements by signal, visited Fort Constantine, and thence 
went in the Alexandria to the little roadstead, where the 
party landed in small boats at the Petrovsky pier. The 
Admiralty docks, the steamer workshops, and the new 
docks, were visited and inspected thoroughly. His Ma¬ 
jesty complimented Baron Tiesenhausen, Major-General 


THE IMPERIAL BANQUET. 


201 


of Engineers, in cliarge of the works erecting at the lat¬ 
ter place, and took his departure amid the cheers of the 
workmen. The party then went to Battery No. 10, in 
the North Channel, where an iron turret was erecting in 
the fort, and at half-past three o’clock returned to Peter- 
hof, where Mr. Fox and Commander Beaumont took 
leave of the Emperor and went hack with Admiral Les- 
sovsky to St. Petersburg. 

August 22 d (10 t/i ).—Wednesday was clear, warm, and 
pleasant. Mr. Fox spent the most of the morning at 
Levitzky’s, sitting for photographs, a great demand for 
his pictures having arisen. 

At three o’clock in the afternoon, he went by steamer 
to Peterhof, to attend a grand banquet given by his 
Imperial Majesty, the Emperor, in honor of the Ameri¬ 
can mission. Accompanying him w r ere General Clay, 
Mr. Curtin, Captain Murray, Commander Beaumont, 
Messrs. Green and Loubat, and Messrs. Post, Adams, 
Latimer, and Sawyer, of the Augusta and the Mian- 
tonomoh. 

The banquet-hall, in which covers were set for one 
hundred guests, was magnificently decorated. Besides 
their Imperial Majesties the Emperor and the Em¬ 
press, there were present their Imperial Highnesses 
the Grand-duchess Alexandra Josefovna, the Grand- 
duchess Marie Nicholaevna, the Grand-duchess Cathe¬ 
rine Micliailovna, the Princess Eugenie of Leuchten- 
berg, his Imperial Highness the Duke of Leuchtenberg, 


202 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


and bis Grand-ducal Highness George, Duke of Meck- 
lenburg-Strelitz. 

The Grand-duchess Catherine Michai'lovna is the 
daughter of the Grand-duke Michael, the son of the late 
Emperor Paul (father of the Emperor Nicholas I.), by his 
second wife, Marie, daughter of Frederick Eugene, Duke 
of Wurttemberg. She is, therefore, first-cousin to the Em¬ 
peror. She married, February 16, 1851, George, Duke 
of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. 

At the table General Clay was placed between the 
Grand-duchess Alexandra Josefovna and the Princess 
Eugenie of Leuchtenberg, on the left of the Emperor, 
and the Honorable Mr. Fox between the Grand-duchess 
Marie Nicholaevna and the Grand-ducliess Catherine 
Michai'lovna, on the right of the Emperor. Captain Mur¬ 
ray, Commander Beaumont, Messrs. Green and Loubat, 
and the other officers and gentlemen of the party, occu¬ 
pied seats opposite their Imperial Majesties. 

The Yice-Chancellor of the Empire, Prince Gortcha- 
koff, was unable to be present on account of indisposi¬ 
tion. Yice-Admiral Crabbe, Pear-Admiral Lessovsky, 
and some high functionaries of the court and of the Min- 
istrv of Foreign Affairs, were seated with the American 
officers. 

During the dinner charming music was played by two 
concealed bands of regiments of the Imperial Guard. 
The bill of fare was written on gilt-edged paper, sur- 
rounded by an engraved border, printed in black, repre¬ 
senting fruits, flowers, and cornucopias, surmounted by 
the imperial arms and crown. It reads as follows : 


THE IMPERIAL BANQUET. 


203 


MENU DU AOUT. 

Potage Coulis de Gailles & la Castellane. 

Potage Julienne ;\ la Roy ale. 

Petits p&tes et Coquillds de foies gras. 

Sterlet 1 it la Russe. 

Filet de boeuf et cotelettes de Yolaille k la Chantilly. 
Timbale de Brunaneaux, P61issier. 

Petits pois aux croutons. 

Rotis meles. Salade. 

Savarin & la Caradoc. 

Bavarois Chateaubriand. 


The guests were received by the grand-marshal of 
the Court, and, after the customary “ zakuska,” entered 
the dining-room and stood by their respective places until 
the imperial family entered, when all sat down together. 
After dinner all arose and stood until the Emperor and 
the imperial family had retired. 

Toward the close of the dinner, his Majesty gave this 
sentiment in French : 

“ I drink to the prosperity of the United States of 
America, and to the perpetuity of the friendly relations 
between the two countries.” 

At the request of the Emperor, Admiral Lessovsky, 
who sat opposite to his Majesty, translated the toast into 
English. 

No other toast was given. After dinner the guests 
followed the imperial family into an adjoining drawing- 


1 The sterlet is a delicate fish of the sturgeon variety, found in the Cas¬ 
pian Sea and the river Volga. They are taken in nets as they go up the 
river to spawn, and are kept alive in tanks until needed for the table. They 
are esteemed a great delicacy, and fine specimens command a very high price. 
The best caviare is made from their roe. 


204 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


room, where conversation was held for a short time, when 
they separated. 

The following semi-official account of the imperial ban¬ 
quet is translated from the Journal de St. Petersbourg: 

“ On the 10th of August the palace of Peterhof wit¬ 
nessed a solemnity replete with interest. These walls, 
where yet lives the idea of Peter the Great, developed by 
his august successors, ‘ the window opened upon Europe,’ 
welcomed the arrival from the other side of the ocean of 
the delegates of a great maritime nation, charged with a 
mission of courtesy, the bearers of friendly words and of 
pledges of amity, addressed not only by the Government 
of the Union to the sovereign of Russia, but by the 
American people to the people of Russia in the august 
person of a well-beloved monarch, who has borne so con¬ 
spicuously and so far the glory of his country, and whose 
precious life, providentially preserved, is considered even 
in the other hemisphere as belonging to all humanity. 

“ Their Imperial Majesties the Emperor and the Em¬ 
press gave a solemn banquet to these envoys, come from 
such a distance to attest the brotherhood of two great 
peoples and the union of two worlds. 

“ The American mission, headed by General Clay, the 
minister of the United States at St. 'Petersburg, was con¬ 
veyed to the palace in court carriages. A numerous as¬ 
semblage of the high dignitaries of state and of the ladies 
of the court were invited to take part in the reception. 
The banquet-hall was sumptuously decorated, and the 
dinner laid for one hundred guests. Their Imperial 
Highnesses the Grand-duchess Alexandra Josefovna, the 


THE IMPERIAL BANQUET. 


205 


Grancl-duchess Marie Nicholaevna, the Grand-duchess 
Catherine Michailovna, the Princess Eugenie of Leucli- 
tenberg, his Imperial Highness the Duke of Leucliten- 
berg, and his Grand-ducal Highness the Duke George of 
Mecklenburg-Strelitz, aided their Majesties the Emperor 
and the Empress in their task of sovereign hospitality. 
General Clay was seated between their Imperial High¬ 
nesses the Grand-duchess Alexandra Josefovna and the 
Princess Eugenie of Leuchtenberg, and the Assistant Sec¬ 
retary of the Navy, Fox, between their Imperial High¬ 
nesses the Grand-duchess Marie Nicholaevna and the 
Grand-duchess Catherine Michailovna. Captains Murray 
and Beaumont, the other officers of the two United States 
men-of-war lying at Cronstadt, and the other members of 
the American mission and of the legation of the United 
States at St. Petersburg, were placed opposite their Im¬ 
perial Majesties, who talked with several of them during 
dinner. The Vice-Chancellor of the Empire, Prince Gor- 
tchakoff, was retained at home by indisposition. Ad¬ 
miral Crabbe, Rear-Admiral Lessovsky, and some high 
functionaries of the court and of the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs, were seated among the American delegates, to do 
the honors of the banquet, completed by the music of the 
concealed bands of two regiments of the Imperial Guard. 

“ Near the close of the dinner his Majesty the Emper¬ 
or arose and gave a toast: ‘ To the prosperity of the 
United States of America, and to the perpetuity of the 
friendly relations between the two countries.’ The whole 
assemblage arose to receive with respect these words, 
which found an echo in every heart. 


206 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


<£ The whole of Russia will join in the toast. 

“ After dinner, their Majesties passed into an adjoin¬ 
ing room, followed by their guests, with whom they con¬ 
versed in the most gracious manner. 

“ This fete, at which a perfect cordiality presided, will 
certainly leave happy remembrances in the minds of our 
American visitors, as it will among those who assisted at 
it and who appreciated the tact and the personal qualities 
which distinguished them.” 

In the evening the gentlemen of the mission, and the 
officers accompanying them, attended a ball at the Eng¬ 
lish Palace. It was the third of a series of charity balls 
given under the patronage of the Grand-duchess Marie 
Nicholaevna, for the benefit of the asylum founded at 
Peterhof in memory of her father, the late Emperor 
Nicholas. The English Palace is in the English Park, 
on the road from Peterhof to Oranienbaum. It is so 
called because it is laid out in the natural or English 
style, instead of the geometrical or French style, in¬ 
troduced by Le Notre, the celebrated gardener of Louis 
XIV., who planned the Versailles gardens. It is sur¬ 
rounded by pretty cottages and ornamental ponds, making 
it a very pleasant place for a summer fete. The charity 
balls given there are usually attended by members of the 
imperial family and by the nobility resident in the neigh¬ 
borhood of Peterhof and of St. Petersburg, but they are by 
no means exclusive. Civilians of good standing, and for¬ 
eigners in Russia who are introduced by their respective 
ministers, are admitted on the contribution to the charity 
of three rubles, for which the tickets are nominallv sold. 


THE CHARITY BALL. 


207 


The ball was a brilliant one, being graced by the 
presence of the Emperor, who shook hands with Messrs. 
Fox, Murray, Beaumont, and Komissaroff, on entering; 
the Grand-duchess Marie, the Princess Eugenie, the Dukes 
Nicholas and Eugene of Leuchtenberg, and other mem¬ 
bers of the imperial house. There was also a large at¬ 
tendance of the nobility, and of distinguished officials. 

On the entrance of the Grand-duchess Marie, Captain 
Murray and Commander Beaumont, followed by the rest 
of the American officers present, approached her Imperial 
Highness and begged permission to present an address, 
which was graciously granted. 

Captain Murray then read the following: 

“ Imperial Highness : The crews of the American men- 
of-war in the roadstead at Cronstadt, having learned that 
you preside over a noble work of charity, consecrated to 
the memory of your glorious father, and that the ball of 
this evening is in furtherance of this charity, I have been 
deputed by them to beg you to accept this modest of¬ 
fering. 

“ Graciously permit that the distribution of it be made 
by your own hand, with your customary judicious gen¬ 
erosity.” 

Captain Murray then asked permission to remit to her 
Imperial Highness the sum of one thousand silver rubles. 
She thanked him with much fervor. 

The dancing was kept up until one o’clock in the 
moraine:. After the ball the Americans were driven in 
court carriages to the palace of Peterhof, where apart¬ 
ments had been assigned them. 


CHAPTER XV. 


FROM ST. PETERSBURG TO MOSCOW—THE NICHOLAS RAILWAY 

-GREAT NOVGOROD-THE KREMLIN-TEMPLE OF THE 

SAVIOUR. 

A UGUST 23 d {11th ).—Thursday opened warm and 
clear. As it was the day set for Mr. Fox’s depart¬ 
ure for Moscow, the Americans left Peterliof, and re¬ 
turned by steamer to St. Petersburg at an early hour. 

At half-past two in the afternoon they drove to the 
Moscow railway-station, on the Uevsky Prospect, where 
they were received by Messrs. Bibikoff and Kokoreff, 
the deputies of the municipality of Moscow. The party 
consisted of Mr. Fox and Mr. Loubat; General Clay, and 
the Secretary of Legation, Mr. Curtin ; Captain Murray, 
Commander Beaumont, and about twentv other officers. 
The correspondent of the New York Tribune , Mr. Bore- 
man, was also of the party. Mr. Green did not go to 
Moscow, he having been recalled to the United States by 
private business a few days before. Rear-Admirals Les- 
sovsky and Gorkovenko, and the other Russian gentle¬ 
men belonging to the committee of reception, accom¬ 
panied the Americans. 


FROM ST. PETERSBURG TO MOSCOW. 


209 


The journey was made by the regular mail-train, but 
in two special cars which had been prepared for the oc¬ 
casion by the city of Moscow. The exteriors of these 
coaches were draped with the American colors. A fine 
lunch was also spread in one of them. 

The distance from St. Petersburg to Moscow is four 
hundred and three miles. The road, called the Nicholas 
Pailway, in honor of the Emperor Nicholas, who built 
it, follows very nearly an air-line, without reference to 
important towns between the two points. It is said that 
the Emperor, after examining carefully the surveys of the 
engineers, and noticing that the line had been deflected 
at different points to subserve local interests, laid a rule 
on the map, drew a straight line from St. Petersburg to 
Moscow, and ordered the road to be built on it. It is a 
solid and substantial work, with all its appointments in 
keeping. The stations, which are of brick and stone, are 
uniform in style, and have carefully-kept grounds around 
them, planted with shrubbery. 

The country through which the railway runs is gen¬ 
erally flat and uninteresting, much of it covered with 
white-birch and spruce trees. More than half of it, how¬ 
ever, is cleared and under cultivation. 

At the Luban Station the travellers were invited to 
dinner, prepared for them in the refreshment-rooms. The 
deputies from Moscow proposed a toast to “ the health of 
all our dear guests who are going to Moscow.” Mr. Fox 
gave in return a toast “ to all the Russians, America’s best 
friends.” 

At the Tchudovo Station the train stopped longer than 
14 




210 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


usual. The Governor of Novgorod, the President of the 
Provincial Council of the government of Novgorod, the 
members of the council, the representatives of the cor¬ 
porations of the city, the bailiffs of the communes, and 
the chiefs of the villages, awaited the Americans on the 
platform of the station. 

When the train arrived, the Governor, Mr. Lerkhe, 
read a congratulatory address, to which the President of 
the Provincial Council, Mr. Katchaloff, added a few words 
to express the gratitude of the province of Novgorod for 
the sympathy expressed for Russia by the American peo¬ 
ple. 

“ To the Representative of the Great American People , 

Mr. G. Y. Fox: 

“ The undersigned, representatives of all classes of the 
government of Novgorod, profiting by your visit, con¬ 
sider it a sacred duty to express, through you, to the 
great American people and to Congress, their heart-felt 
gratitude for the sentiments which you have come across 
the ocean to declare. 

“ This sympathy for the preservation of the precious 
life of our Emperor-Liberator touches us to the bottom 
of our souls, and is the strongest proof of the good and 
sincere disposition of the American toward the Russian 
people. 

“ These sentiments of friendship for Russia have been 
before expressed in the cordial reception given to our 
fleet in America, for which Russia is likewise profoundly 
grateful. 


ANCIENT NOVGOROD. 


211 


“In this union of two great peoples, the undersigned 
see innumerable mutual advantages. 

(Signed) “ Edward Lerkhe, Governor of Novgorod, 
u Katciialoff, President of the Provincial 
Regency of the Government , etc. 

“Village of Tchudovo, Government of Novgorod, 

August 11, 1866.” 

Admiral Lessovsky translated into English the speeches 
as they were delivered. When they were done, Mr. Fox, 
taking a glass of wine, gave a toast to the prosperity of 
“ Ancient Great Novgorod, the oldest of Russian cities.” 

One of the deputation of peasants, a venerable-look¬ 
ing old man, with a long, white beard, came forward and 
said to Admiral Lessovsky : “ Tell them, father, that we 
will always pray to God for them, because they, sympa¬ 
thize so deeply with us and with our Emperor.” 

The deputation then offered to Mr. Fox bread and 
salt, a living fish just caught in the river Volkhoff, some 
biscuits which the peasants in the neighborhood of this 
station make for sale, an album of remarkable views and 
antiquities of the province of Novgorod, a medal struck 
in commemoration of the one-thousandtli anniversary of 
the founding of the Russian Empire, and a large litho¬ 
graphic view T of the monument erected in memory of the 
same event. 

As the train moved off from the station, the crowd 
cheered lustily, the Americans acknowledging the com¬ 
pliment from the cars. Messrs. Lerkhe, Katchaloff, and 
several other gentlemen of the deputation, accompanied 


212 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


the mission as far as the Volkhoff River. As they were 
about taking their leave, champagne was produced, and 
Mr. Kokoreff toasted “ the eldest brothers of the Russian 
land, the Novgorodians.” 

This visit of a deputation representing the most an¬ 
cient of Russian cities, is an example of the friendly spirit 
actuating the whole people with regard to America. They 
had driven forty-five miles that day, Novgorod being that 
distance from the railway, simply to offer their congratu¬ 
lations to the Americans, and to thank them for their 
sympathy for their Emperor. 

Great Novgorod was one of the earliest settlements 
made by the wild Slavonian tribes when they began to 
drop their nomadic life. It dates from about the fifth 
century. In the ninth century, its inhabitants, troubled 
with internal dissension and feeling the need of a strong 
head, sent an embassy to the Normans and invited Ru- 
rik, one of their sea-kings, to come and rule over them. 
Rurik came in the year 862, took up his residence in 
Novgorod, and founded the Russian monarch}^, over 
which his dynasty reigned for seven hundred years. 
Fedor I., who died in 1598, was the last of his race. 1 
In 1862, a grand celebration was held at Novgorod, and 
a monument erected in commemoration of the one-thou¬ 
sandth anniversary of the existence of the empire. 

The city is situated on the Volkhoff River, about forty- 

1 According to Scandinavian antiquaries, Rurik came from a district in 
Sweden called Roslagen or Rodeslagen; but Prof. Kostomaroff, of St. Peters¬ 
burg, one of the best Russian historians of the present day, says that Rurik 
(in old Slavic, Falcon) and his brothers Sineus (Blue-moustache) and Truvor 
(Buffalo) were chiefs of the Varangi, a Slavic tribe from the coast of the Gulf 
of Finland. 


ARRIVAL IX MOSCOW. 


213 


five miles south of the line of the St. Petersburg and Mos¬ 
cow railway. It contains now less than twenty thousand 
inhabitants, but the story of its greatness and splendor 
may still be read in its ancient churches, one of which, 
the cathedral of St. Sophia, was- standing when William 
the Conqueror went into England. The monastery of 
Turyeff, two miles from the city, is still older, having 
been founded by Yaroslaf, the son of Yladimir. The lat¬ 
ter monarch, enrolled by the Russian Church among her 
saints, was the introducer of Christianity. It is interest¬ 
ing to note that his eldest son, Yladimir, who died before 
him, married the daughter of Harold, the last of the 
Saxon kings of England ; the issue of which marriage, 
a daughter, became the mother of Waldemar the Great, 
King of Denmark. 


August ‘Aith (12 th ).—At Tver, where the railway 
crosses the Yolga, another deputation was in waiting 
to welcome the Americans, notwithstanding the early 
hour, five a. m., at which the train arrived. The usual 
greetings and compliments were exchanged here and 
bread and salt again presented. 

At half-past ten o’clock in the morning the train 
entered the Moscow Station. A great crowd of people 
and a military band received the visitors with cheers and 
“Hail Columbia.” Prince Stcherbatoff, the mayor of the 
city, the members of the city council, and numerous rep¬ 
resentatives of the different corporations, all with red, 
white, and blue ribbons in their button-holes, welcomed 
the mission in the most cordial and flattering terms, 


214 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


and informed Mr. Fox that he had been made an hon¬ 
orary citizen of Moscow. The travellers were driven at 
once to the hotel of Mr. Kokoreff, in open carriages, 
with gayly-dressed horses, the drivers wearing American 
cockades. The streets through which they passed were 
densely crowded with citizens, who cheered lustily and 
tossed their hats in air. At last the procession reached 
its destination. The Kokoreff Hotel, a large and impos¬ 
ing building opposite the Kremlin, was decorated with a 
profusion of American and Russian flags, with the arms 
of the two countries, and with the arms of the city of 
Moscow. 

Mr. Kokoreff had munificently provided apartments, 
thirty-six in number, in his hotel, for the entire party. 
The chambers were luxuriously furnished, and every thing 
had been done to secure the comfort of the guests. The 
Americans were surprised to find in each room photo¬ 
graphs of Messrs. Fox, Murray, and Beaumont, and in 
that of Mr. Fox portraits of Washington, Lincoln, and 
Johnson. But their surprise was greater when they saw, 
on the walls of the reading-room, portraits in oil of Messrs. 
Fox, Murray, and Beaumont. It was explained after¬ 
ward that Mr. Kokoreff had employed a St. Petersburg 
artist, Mr. Torin, to make sketches of these gentlemen 
at the evening party at Mr. GromofFs, which he accom¬ 
plished without being perceived. From these sketches 
the portraits were painted. “ When the originals have 
departed,” gallantly said Mr. Kokoreff, “ these copies will 
remain with us, an agreeable souvenir of our guests.” 

The Kokoreff Hotel stands on the river-bank, directlv 

/ i/ 


THE KREMLIN. 


215 


opposite the Kremlin, near the bridge. It is a large build¬ 
ing, of much architectural pretension, and contains over 
three hundred chambers. In its reading-room are to be 
found a great variety of Russian and foreign newspapers. 
Mr. Kokoreff, its owner, is one of the wealthy merchants 
of Russia. The Americans were under many obligations 
to him for courtesies while in Moscow. 

After an official call on Prince Dolgorouky, aide-de- 
camp General of the Emperor and Governor-General of- 
Moscow, the gentlemen of the mission, accompanied by 
Prince Stclierbatoff and others, visited the different build¬ 
ings in the Kremlin, Moscow’s famous citadel. Kremlin , 
a word of uncertain derivation, is a name common to the 
fortress around which almost all ancient Russian towns 
were built. 

The Kremlin of Moscow is an enclosure almost trian¬ 
gular, surrounded by high walls, with a massive tower at 
each angle. From the foundation of this fortress, which 
existed in the middle of the twelfth century, dates that of 
Moscow itself. About 1170, Andreas, the son of Vladi¬ 
mir Monomachus, 1 Prince of Kiew, built a stone church 
within the Kremlin, and deposited in it the miraculous 
picture of the Virgin, painted by St. Luke. This picture 
is still shown in the Cathedral of the Assumption, which 
stands on the site of the ancient building. Moscow and 

1 Vladimir Monomachus was the grandson of St. Vladimir, and Prince 
of Kiew. In 1114, the Greek Emperor Constantine Monomachus sent him 
from Constantinople, as presents, a cross made of the wood of the true cross, 
an imperial crown, a splendid dalmatica, and a chain of gold. Vladimir then 
took the name of Monomachus, in compliment to the Emperor, and assumed 
the title of Czar of Grand Russia. 


216 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


its Kremlin suffered much in the middle ages. It was 
sacked and burned by the Mongols in the thirteenth cen¬ 
tury, and again in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries 
by the princes of Lithuania. The city arose the third 
time from its ruins in the reign of Ivan Vassil'ievitch, 
called the Terrible, who gave it the spoils of Novgorod, 
enlarged its wall, and built the towers of the Kremlin. 
It is now about twenty miles in circuit, and contains a 
population of nearly four hundred thousand. The Krem¬ 
lin, the original nucleus of the city, is still its central 
point. From it the streets radiate, like the spokes of a 
wheel, but having no regular plan, and crooking in every 
direction. 

From its situation the Kremlin commands the whole 
city. Its great tower of Ivan Veliky, with its gilded 
cupola nearly three hundred and twenty-five feet above 
its foundations, looks down on all the surrounding towers, 
and its massive battlemented walls are yet strong to de¬ 
fend the palace of its rulers and the sanctuary of its patri¬ 
archs. Its interior is an orderless assemblage of build¬ 
ings in all styles and of different periods. There is no 
symmetry, no regularity, neither in the structures, the 
streets, nor in the spaces between the buildings. Cathe¬ 
drals, chapels, palaces, built from age to age without any 
apparent design, of a style antique and Byzantine in 
character, with numerous spires, cupolas, and towers, 
gilded and painted with various colors, present a med¬ 
ley of architecture at once strange, incongruous, and 
attractive. 

The Tower of Ivan Velikv is an octagonal structure. 


THE GREAT BELL. 


217 


five stories in lieiglit. From its summit a magnificent 
view is obtained of Moscow and the surrounding plain, 
with its hundreds of churches, palaces, and convents, its 
towers and steeples, its gilded cupolas and azure domes, 
and its mass of green-roofed houses stretching as far as 
the eye can see. The lower story of the tower is used as 
a chapel. In the next three above it are hung thirty-four 
hells of various sizes, the largest of which weighs sixty- 
four tons. But large as is this hell, it is little more than 
one-fourth the size of the Czar Kolokol, the Czar of Bells, 
which stands upon a granite pedestal at the foot of the 
tower. The great bell of Moscow was cast originally 
about the year 1600, but has been recast twice since, the 
last time by the Empress Anne in 1733. Four years 
after, it fell during a fire, and a large piece was broken out 
of one side. From that time until 1836 it lay buried in 
the ground, when the Emperor Nicholas caused it to be 
placed in its present position. 1 It measures about twenty 
feet in height, twenty-one feet in diameter, and weighs 
over four bundled and forty thousand pounds. Tradition 
says that when it was fused the people threw into the fur¬ 
nace quantities of gold and silver as votive offerings. Its 
metal is valued, at a low calculation, at three hundred 
thousand dollars. 

The sacred edifices within the Kremlin walls are the 
Cathedrals of the Assumption (Uspensky Sobor), of the 
Archangel Michael (Arkhangelskiy Sobor), and of the 
Annunciation (Blagovestchensky Sobor), and the Church 

1 It was raised and placed upon its pedestal by M. Montferrand, the archi¬ 
tect of the Cathedral of St. Isaac’s in St. Petersburg. 


218 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


of the Redeemer in the Wood (Sjpass na Boru). In the 
Cathedral of the Assumption, formerly called the Patri¬ 
archal Cathedral, because the patriarchs officiated in it, 
all the Russian Emperors since the days of Ivan the Ter¬ 
rible have been crowned. It is a small building with a 
narrow and sombre nave, whose vaulted roof is sustained 
by four great columns that occupy almost a third of its 
floor. Walls, vault, and pillars, are covered with fres¬ 
coes, representing in a gigantic form the figures of the 
apostles and the saints, with purple mantles and golden 
aureoles. The ikonastas is of silver gilt, covered with 
carved images, and resplendent wdtli precious stones. 
On this screen hangs the picture of the Virgin, said to 
have been painted by St. Luke, and another representing 
St. John, attributed to the Greek Emperor Emanuel. 
Among the holy relics preserved with religious care is 
what is claimed to be one of the veritable tunics worn 
by Jesus Christ. The church is very rich in ornamenta¬ 
tion, in holy relics, and in historical associations, and is 
one of the most venerated structures in Russia. 

The Cathedral of the Archangel Michael is of nearly 
the same form as the Assumption, and like it is crowned 
with five cupolas. 1 It has also a splendid screen, and 
contains relics of great renown. It was built in 1505, on 
the site of another church erected in 1333, in memory of 
Russia’s deliverance from famine. Up to the time of 
Peter the Great it was the burial-place of the imperial 

1 These, which are common to all Russian churches, are in honor of Christ 
and the four Evangelists. 


THE CATHEDRALS. 


219 


family. Their tombs are still to be seen in the vaults, 
inscribed with their names, ages, and titles. 

The Cathedral of the Annunciation is paved with jas¬ 
per and agate, set with gold, and its walls are covered 
with figures of apostles and martyrs. * In the portico are 
depicted the Greek philosophers, as heralds of Christ’s 
coming. Within this church the Czars were formerly 
baptized and married. It contains numerous relics and 
treasures of priceless value. 

The Church of the Redeemer in the Wood is one of 
the oldest buildings in Moscow. It is very small, and has 
little of interest about it, except its antiquity. It re¬ 
ceived its name because originally built in a wood which 
crowned the height of the Kremlin. 

Other ecclesiastical buildings are the Miracle Monas¬ 
tery, the Ascension Convent, and the Sacristy or House 
of the Holy Synod. In the latter are preserved the sa¬ 
cerdotal robes and ornaments and the sacred vessels used 
by the different patriarchs. The most ancient of the 
vestments are those of St. Peter, who was Patriarch of 
Russia in the fourteenth century. The mitres of all the 
patriarchs are deposited here, as well as many other inter¬ 
esting sacred relics. 

The palace is mostly modern, dating from the reign 
of Nicholas I. It stands on the site of the old pal¬ 
ace rebuilt by Catherine II., which was burned by the 
French in 1812. It is no longer used as a royal resi¬ 
dence, although suites of apartments are kept in readiness 
in case of an imperial visit. The interior is very beauti¬ 
ful. The Hall of St. George, a magnificent room two 


220 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


hundred feet long, has inscribed on its walls in letters of 
gold the names of the persons and regiments decorated 
with the Order of St. George. It is furnished with black 
and orange, the colors of the order, which was founded 
by Catherine II., in' 1769. 

Another grand hall, in pink and gold, is dedicated to 
the Order of St. Alexander ISTevsky, founded by Peter the 
Great, in 1722. St. Andrew’s Hall is hung with blue 
silk, and is decorated with the arms of all the provinces 
of Russia. The order dates from 1698, and was founded 
by Peter the Great. There are also halls dedicated to 
the Orders of St. Catherine and of St. Vladimir. The Or¬ 
der of St. Catherine, founded by Peter the Great in 1714, 
is a distinction conferred only upon ladies, by the Em¬ 
press, who has a splendid throne at one end of the apart¬ 
ment. The Hall of St. Vladimir is hung with black and 
red, the colors of the order, which was founded by Cathe¬ 
rine II., in 1782. 1 2 At one end of this hall is the “ Red 
Staircase,” * used only by the Emperor in state ceremoni¬ 
als. The banquet-room is one of the oldest parts of the 
palace, dating from the fifteenth century. It is a vaulted 
chamber, with a single column in the centre, from which 
the arches of the roof spring. After the coronation cere¬ 
mony in the cathedral, the Emperor dines in this room 


1 The other Russian orders are : the White Eagle, founded by Wladislas 
IV., King of Poland, in 1325 ; St. Anne, by Charles Frederick of Sleswig- 
Holstein, in 1*735 ; and St. Stanislas, by Stanislas, King of Poland, in 1765. 
The Order of St. Andrew takes precedence of the others. 

2 The Red Staircase, which is of stone, is so called either because it is 
covered with red cloth on great occasions, or because, in ancient times, red 
was a synonyme of beautiful or handsome. 


THE TREASURY. 


221 


in state, among the great nobles and dignitaries of the 
empire, wearing the imperial robes and insignia. 

The right wing of the palace is entirely new, hav¬ 
ing been erected only about twenty years. It is called 
the Treasury, and is devoted to the preservation of 
the curiosities, relics, regalia, and treasures, illustrative 
of the history of the reigning dynasty and of Russia. 
Here may be seen the crowns of the different countries 
subjugated by Russia, the globes, the sceptres, the thrones 
of the Czars, the robes worn by them at their coronations, 
the gifts brought by conquered chiefs and princes, and 
the golden vessels on which the people of Moscow offer 
the bread and salt to their sovereign when he visits their 
city. Among the thrones is that of Poland, and the ivory 
one brought from Constantinople by Sophia Palseologus, 
the niece of the last Greek emperor, who married Ivan 
III., in 1472. The latter was used at the coronation of 
Alexander II. The throne of Boris Godunoff, sent to 
him by the Shah of Persia, in 1604, is studded with ru¬ 
bies, pearls, and turquoises. The crown of Ivan V. con¬ 
tains nine hundred diamonds, and that of the Empress 
Anne more than twenty-five hundred. In a glass case in 
one of the rooms are preserved the insignia of the Order 
of the Garter, sent by Queen Elizabeth of England to Ivan 
the Terrible ; and, in another room, is a large coach, with 
pictured panels, sent by the same sovereign to the Czar 
Boris Godunoff. But, amid all the magnificence of this 
collection, the eye, wearied with the lustre of gold and 
the sparkle of brilliants, turns for relief to a few relics in¬ 
trinsically valueless, but priceless for the memories which 


222 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


they evoke. Among these is the rude litter on which the 
sick Charles XII. was borne from rank to rank of his 
army on the terrible day of Pultowa, and the sword and 
spurs which he wore. In another place may be seen 
the boots of his great conqueror, mended by his own 
imperial hands; and, in the room devoted to carriages, 
is the camp-bedstead of Napoleon, taken at the Bere- 
sina. 

In another hall is preserved a collection of arms and of 
armor, illustrative of Russian history. Here are swords, 
single-handed and two-handed—plain swords for service 
and swords blazing with precious stones; shields, casques, 
and suits of armor, enamelled, gold-inlaid, and engraved; 
the standards of the Czars and captured battle-flags ; guns 
of every period, from the ancient arquebuse to the modern 
rifle ; and many a weapon that has seen historic fields, or 
been wielded by hands that have left their mark upon the 
world. 

Beside the Arsenal, a massive building at the northern 
angle of the Kremlin, are arranged in rows nine hundred 
captured cannon, three hundred and sixty-five of which, 
one for every day in the year, were lost by the French in 
the awful retreat from Moscow 7 . Austria is represented 
by one hundred and ninety pieces, and Prussia by one 
hundred and twenty-three. At the entrance of the ar¬ 
senal are two very long guns of ancient manufacture ; 
and projecting from one of the angles of the building 
is the Czar cannon (Czar PusKka), weighing forty tons, 
which was cast in the beginning of the seventeenth 
century. 


THE GATES OF THE KREMLIN. 


223 


The Emperor Alexander II. was horn in the Kremlin, 

in the building called the Little Palace. This was once 

the residence of the Metropolitan of Moscow, but it was 

presented to the Emperor Nicholas about the beginning 

of his reiern. 

© 

The walls of the Kremlin, which are something over 
a mile and a quarter in circuit, are pierced by five gates, 
to each of which is attached a religious or an historical im¬ 
portance. The most venerated of these gates is one over 
which is a picture of the Saviour, so faded that one can 
scarcely distinguish the features, with a large antique 
lamp suspended by chains before it. This time-blackened 
image is believed by the people to be endowed with mi¬ 
raculous powers. It preserved Moscow from the Tartars; 
it subdued the pestilence in the reign of Catherine; it 
turned back the tide of French invasion, and saved Rus¬ 
sia. The gate is called the Holy Gate, and no Russian 
may pass through it without making obeisance and the 
sign of the cross, and no stranger but with uncovered 
head. 

The gate of St. Nicholas has over it an image of that 
saint under glass, with a lamp before it. An inscription 
on the wall recites that when Napoleon attempted to 
blow up the tower in 1812, although the gate-way was 
rent by the explosion, the picture and its glass front 
were uninjured. All day long, the pious people of 
Russia’s holy city cross themselves, in passing this vener¬ 
ated image, and burn the little tapers which take part in 
all their religious offices. 

Although Moscow was almost entirely destroyed in 


224 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


1812, and tlie Kremlin greatly injured, both city and cita¬ 
del now present nearly the same appearance and archi¬ 
tectural character that distinguished them before the con¬ 
flagration. The streets retain their ancient sites, and 
most of the buildings have been restored on their original 
foundations. In many instances the old walls are still 
standing. 

The Temple of the Saviour, intended to commemorate 
Russia’s triumph over Napoleon, was founded the year of 
the invasion, but is not yet finished. It was begun origi¬ 
nally on the hills from which the French Emperor first 
looked on the city, but, the ground proving unfit for the 
foundations, it was removed to its present site on the 
river-bank above the Kremlin. When completed, it will 
be one of the most splendid temples in the world. 

The following account, from the Moscow Gazette , of 
a visit made to this church, by his Majesty the Emperor 
and the grand-dukes, August ^th, a few days after the 
mission, gives an interesting description of the edifice, as 
it is and as it will be when ready for dedication : 

“ His Majesty and the grand-dukes examined the 
work with a minute attention, and the Emperor approved 
and confirmed the plans made by the architect-in-chief, 
Tohn. These works consist, as is well known, of a mo¬ 
saic pavement to cover the entire ground-floor of the 
temple and of the exterior peristyle, and of a number of 
paintings on the circumference of the cupola, after the 
designs of Professor Bassine. 

“ The mosaic pavement, judging from the design, will 
be superb. It will be composed principally of labrador- 


THE TEMPLE OF THE SAVIOUR. 


225 


ite 1 and of porphyry, from Sclioklia, of which two ma¬ 
terials the church is in great part constructed. Sienna 
marble and various other beautiful Italian marbles have 
also been used in the composition of this mosaic. 

“ The archbishop’s seat, in the middle of the temple 
under the cupola, will be in plain marble, after the idea 
of the Metropolitan Philaret; the steps which lead to it 
will be in labradorite, the same as the rood-loft. 

“ The designs of Professor Bassine, to be reproduced 
on the circumference of the cupola, and which will be 
thirty-eight sagenes in length by three in breadth, are 
composed of the following figures : In the middle, on the 
side of the altar, Christ seated upon a throne; on his 
right the Virgin Mary, and on his left Saint John the 
Baptist ; next the archangels and the figures of the apos¬ 
tles, the prophets, and the patriarchs, who, ever with¬ 
drawing from Christ, come to rejoin him on the other 
side of the cupola. Some of these figures promise to be 
very remarkable, judging from the design, such as those 
of Saint John the Baptist, of Adam, and of many other 
personages of Holy Writ. 

“ The upper part of the circumference of the cupola 
will be surmounted by a gallery, and an immense immov¬ 
able chandelier will be suspended to light the cupola. 

1 Labradorite is a beautiful variety of feldspar of pearly lustre, often ex¬ 
hibiting a play of blue, green, yellow, and red colors. It is found in abun¬ 
dance in Labrador, hence its name. Porphyry (w op<f>vpa, purple) is a rock of 
a compact base of reddish feldspar, in which are disseminated rose-colored 
crystals of feldspar. Some varieties have a base of green, red, purple, or 
black. It is very hard, and susceptible of a beautiful polish. The Russians 
have been very successful in working it. 

15 


226 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


This chandelier is finished, but is not yet hung. The 
cupola is twelve sagenes in diameter; it is so high that 
the whole tower of Ivan Veliky, with the cross on its 
summit, could stand within it. The interior height of the 
temple is thirty-three sagenes and one and three-fourths 
archine above the level of the ground, and thirty-two 
sagenes and three-fourths of an archine above the pave¬ 
ment. Its exterior height, comprising the cross on the 
summit, is forty-nine sagenes. 1 

“ The paintings on the ceiling of the cupola are exe¬ 
cuted by Professor Markoff, and will be finished, it is 
said, by January next. They represent God the Father 
with open arms, and the Holy Spirit issuing from His 
lips in the figure of a dove ; the infant Jesus, bearing on 
His breast the inscription ‘ Logos ’ (the Word), is seated 
upon His knee. 

u The head of God the Father is not painted at the 
zenith of the cupola, but a little lower down, so that in 
entering one can see the whole figure very distinctly. 

“ The gigantic cupola is sustained by four pillars of 
colossal size, four sagenes in diameter. The general plan 
of the interior of the church is in the form of a regular 
cross of four branches. The ikonastas, placed at the east¬ 
ern extremity of the cross, will have, at the holy doors, 
the form of a tent. 


1 The archine, or arshin, is twenty-eight inches; and the sagene, or 
sashin, is three archines, which makes it equal to seven English feec. The 
cupola is eighty-four feet in diameter, and its height (interior) above the 
floor is two hundred and twenty-five feet and nine inches. The tower of 
Ivan Veliky is nearly two hundred and twenty-five feet high. The exterior 
height of the Temple of the Saviour is three hundred and forty-three feet. 


THE TEMPLE OF THE SAVIOUR. 


227 


“ The grand painting, and two other paintings of the 
altar, the holy doors, and some pictures of the ikonastas, 
will be due to the pencil of Professor Neff. The artist 
has chosen, as a subject for the large painting of the altar, 
the Last Supper ; the picture above the altar of sacrifice 
will have for its subject the prayer in the Garden of 
Olives; and those at the bottom of the ikonastas will be, 
on the one side, Jesus seated upon the throne, and on the 
other the birth of Christ (the Virgin Mary holding the 
new-born babe in her arms). The rest of the pictures 
covering the ikonastas, and the paintings of the walls of 
the temple above the choir, have been intrusted to Messrs. 
Reimers, Khudiakoff, Wenig, and divers other artists. 

“ The casing of the interior walls of the temple is ad¬ 
vancing rapidly. The bases of the walls, which are to be 
covered with labradorite and porphyry from Schokha, 
are nearly completed. In addition, there will be arcades 
sustained by monolithic columns of porphyry from Scho¬ 
kha. Frames, also of this same porphyry, will be pre¬ 
pared to receive medallions in labradorite. 

“ Above these medallions, which form a kind of inte¬ 
rior plinth, will be executed works in Italian marble as far 
as the choir, which extends above the exterior peristyle its 
entire length. Above the choir, up to the cupola, there 
will be only paintings. 

“ The porphyry of Schokha (government of Olonetzk) 
has a more homogeneous body than the labradorite; it 
cannot be sawn, it must be cut with the chisel. 

“ The cutting of the columns, the flights of steps, and 
the other parts of the building, is not done by machinery, 


228 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


but by band, by Russian workmen, under tbe direction of 
a skilful master stone-cutter, named Theodore PkilipofF. 

“ The work is truly of a wonderful perfection, and his 
Majesty paused with interest near the blocks of porphyry 
and of labradorite which were polishing before him. 
The Emperor deigned even to express, on this point, his 
entire satisfaction. 

“ When the pictures of the ceiling, which his Majesty 
has also honored with his approval, shall be finished, M. 
Tohn intends to construct under the cupola a temporary 
glass window, which will let in the light, while preserving 
the pictures from the dust, and by which the public can 
enter to visit the cupola. His Majesty has been pleased 
to authorize its construction. 

“ M. Tohn, desiring to be able to judge soon of the gen¬ 
eral appearance of the work which he has conceived and 
executed, as is very natural, not expecting to live a great 
while longer (M. Tohn is now very old), wishes to see 
begun before him all of the temple that remains to be 
executed; which will give him the certainty that the 
plan will not suffer any great change in the future. 

“ As to the time necessary for the completion of the 
work, that depends entirely on the pecuniary means 
placed at the disposal of the commission charged with its 
execution. 

“ If the means suffice, the temple will be done in ten or 
twelve years; if not, it may yet take twenty-five years. 
In any event, the Temple of the Saviour will be superb 
when finished, notwithstanding what is said of its semi- 
Byzantine style. 


THE TEMPLE OF THE SAVIOUR. 


229 


“We must not forget that this temple is built to com¬ 
memorate the expulsion of the French in 1812, and that 
it has, consequently, an historical significance. It is sur¬ 
rounded by an exterior peristyle for religious processions. 

“ The walls of this peristyle will be covered with paint¬ 
ings representing the principal events of the wars of 
1812, 1813, 1814, and 1815 ; and the trophies captured in 
those wars will be preserved in it. 

“ The entrances of this peristyle, which are reached by 
superb staircases in Finland granite, will be on the four 
sides (it is also in granite, of which is constructed the 
whole basement of the temple). 

“ The exterior walls of the temple are cased up to their 
top with a white stone, and ornamented with a double 
row of bass-reliefs (the bottom of the principal bass-reliefs 
is covered with stucco). 

“ The lower range of bass-reliefs represents biblical and 
evangelical subjects, which are suggestive of the principal 
events of Russian history during the time mentioned. 
The upper range is composed of medallions representing 
the days when the Russians achieved the victories. 

“ The area before the temple will be surrounded by 
a railing and adorned with the statues of the principal 
heroes of the national war. Pyramids of cannon and of 
cannon-balls will be erected at the grand gates. The 
houses which surround the temple will be demolished and 
a magnificent granite stairway will descend to the 
Moskva.” 


CHAPTER XVI. 


PRINCE DOLGOROUKy’s DINNER—FETE AT THE ZOOLOGICAL 
GARDENS-THE BAZAAR-CHURCH OF KAZAN-AGRICUL¬ 

TURAL ACADEMY—REVIEW OF TROOPS—NOVO DIEVITCHY 
CONVENT. 

A T seven o’clock, tlie same evening, a grand banquet 
was given to the members of the mission, by the 
governor-general, at his official residence. The Ameri¬ 
cans were received at the entrance, as they had been in 
Cronstadt and St. Petersburg, by the cheers of an im¬ 
mense multitude, and by the strains of “ Hail Columbia ” 
from a military band. The outside of the building was 
decorated with the flags of the two countries, with the 
arms of the United States and of the city of Moscow, and 
with garlands. The vestibule was similarly ornamented. 
The staircase was covered with flowers and evergreens, 
and lined with footmen in scarlet liveries, powdered wigs, 
and silk stockings. On the walls appeared again the arms 
of America, and over the grand entrance, at the head of 
the stairs, was the shield of the Russian Empire. A sec¬ 
ond band, placed in the first reception-room, also played 
American airs. 


PRINCE DOLGOROUKY’S DINNER. 


231 


The great hall, in which, the dinner was served, was 
brilliantly illuminated and decorated with flowers, coats- 
of-arms, and with the Russian and American flags. The 
portrait of the Emperor was wreathed in lilacs, and 
above it were draped the Russian naval and government 
ensigns, and the flag of the city of Moscow. The oppo¬ 
site wall was hung with a large American ensign. 

At half-past seven o’clock the company sat down to 
dinner. Tables more magnificent could scarcely be de¬ 
vised, the Prince’s exquisite service of solid silver gilt 
being almost lost in the profusion of exotic flowers. 
The walls were lined with liveried footmen, who stood 
like statues the whole evening; other servants, dressed 
in the usual black and white, waiting on the guests. An 
orchestra played operatic music, and the national airs of 
Russia and of America, during the dinner. 

The bill of fare was printed in gold on tinted paper, 
within a colored border of fruit, flowers, and game, with 
the arms of Prince Dolgorouky, also in colors, at the top. 
It was as follows: 


MEXU. 

Diner du Aout, 1866. 

Potage tortue aux sterlets. 
Consomme it la Sevigne. 
Bouchees et petits pates. 

Longe de veau it la jardiniere. 
Saumons de la Neva. 

Foies gras de Strasbourg. 

Punch Imperial. 

Dindonneaux et gibier. 

Fonds d’artichauts et petits pois. 
Pudding Washington. 

Fontaine Orientale. 


232 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


After the customary toasts to the President of the 
United States, to the Emperor of Russia, and to the Em¬ 
press and the imperial family, all of which were received 
with cheers and followed by appropriate music, Prince 
Dolgorouky proposed the health of Mr. Fox, accompany¬ 
ing the toast with these remarks: 

“ The welcome which has been given you, gentlemen, 
by our navy, and by all classes of the Russian people, has 
shown you what sympathy the citizens of the United 
States enjoy in our country. Believe me, you will not 
meet with a welcome less cordial nor less friendly in Mos¬ 
cow, the ancient capital of the empire, where the name 
of American is loved and honored as that of a great peo¬ 
ple who cherish for us a sincere friendship. You, gentle¬ 
men, have shared with us our joy at the miraculous pres¬ 
ervation of our beloved sovereign. The congratulations 
expressed by you in the name of the people of the United 
States have touched our hearts 'deeply, and the whole na¬ 
tion gives you its thanks.” 

Mr. Fox replied : 

“ If the toast in which my name has been pronounced 
had been addressed to me personally, I should feel some 
embarrassment in replying; but it is offered to all the 
Americans present, and also to those who, though inhab¬ 
iting the other side of the globe, had their sympathies 
aroused by the danger which menaced your sovereign. 
This feeling has found expression in the resolution of Con¬ 
gress and the dispatch of the monitor Miantonomoh with 
this mission to your country. If the hearts of the Amer¬ 
icans present could be uncovered, there would be found 


PRINCE DOLGOROUKY’S DINNER. 


233 


what I now behold, the flags of Russia and of America 
intertwined. May these two flags in peaceful embrace be 
thus united forever ! ” (All arose and cheered.) 

Prince Dolgorouky then proposed the health of Gen¬ 
eral Clay, and of Captain Murray and Commander Beau¬ 
mont, accompanying the toast with these remarks : 

“ The brilliant reception given by the United States 
to the Russian squadron in 1863 and 1864 has left in 
Russian hearts an ineffaceable remembrance of gratitude, 
and has drawn together still more closely, if possible, the 
ties of love and of sympathy which unite the two na¬ 
tions.” 

Captain Murray thanked Prince Dolgorouky in be¬ 
half of himself and of Commander Beaumont, and pro¬ 
posed u The Russian Army and Navy.” 

General Clay then toasted the Governor-General of 
Moscow, who replied as follows : 

“ The Russian and American people are attracted 
toward each other by resemblances which it is impossible 
not to acknowledge. This is one of them : At the time 
when you fought so energetically for the grand principle 
of the abolition of slavery, our well-beloved monarch gave 
liberty to twenty-two millions of serfs, who now bless 
their liberator. The electric telegraph, that powerful in¬ 
strument of civilization, has annihilated the distance 
which separates the two continents. It will transmit to 
the other side of the ocean these mutual congratulations 
of nations whose hearts beat in unison. It will tell your 
countrymen that these are the congratulations of nations 
sincerely attached to each other. I drink to the health 


234 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


of the American Army and Navy, and to all the Ameri¬ 
can people. Long live America and Americans ! ” 

During the progress of the dinner a military band was 
heard playing in front of the house, and loud and frequent 
cheers proclaimed the presence of a great crowd of the 
citizens of Moscow. Prince Dolgorouky conducted Mr. 
Fox to the balcony, in answer to the popular appeal. As 
far as could be seen, the open space in front of the palace 
was packed with human beings. As soon as the Ameri¬ 
can envoy was descried, the air rang with loud and pro¬ 
longed hurrahs. It seemed as if the shouts would never 
end. It was a grand, spontaneous, popular ovation, and 
proved that the people of Russia’s ancient capital were as 
profoundly touched by the proffered sympathy of the 
United States as were those of St. Petersburg. The 
occasion was a most gratifying one to both host and 
guests. 

At ten o’clock the company visited the Zoological 
Gardens, the president and directors of the society hav¬ 
ing left invitations in the morning to a fete to be given 
in honor of the Americans. The grounds were splendid¬ 
ly illuminated and filled with people. The directors met 
the party at the gate, and conducted them, preceded by a 
military band playing our national march, to the lower 
pond in the botanical garden, where a second band re¬ 
ceived them with American and Russian airs. The loud 
cheers of the people forced several repetitions of the na¬ 
tional music. The night was clear and bright, and the 
appearance of the gardens, lit with lanterns, different- 
colored lights, and transparencies, was most beautiful. 


PRINCE DOLGOROUKY’S DINNER. 


235 


The names of "Washington, Franklin, Lincoln, and John¬ 
son, were prominently displayed. 

When the military bands had finished, a company of 
Tyroleans, dressed in their picturesque national costume, 
entertained the party with some of their sweet songs and 
dances. The Americans were invited next to the pavil¬ 
ion, from the gallery of which they witnessed a display 
of fireworks on the shore of the lake. This exhibition 
was something really remarkable. The principal piece 
represented the Temple of Liberty, with the inscription 
“ Hail Columbia ” in letters of fire; from columns on 
each side was the Genius of Russia, in the act of flying, 
with outstretched arms toward it. Another piece repre¬ 
sented a battle between an old-fashioned three-decker and 
a monitor—ending in the former being blown into the 
air, amid immense applause by the spectators. After¬ 
ward swans sailed over the lake, breathing streams of fire 
of various colors, flashing rockets and variegated lights 
from their wings, and finally disappearing in a whirl of 
serpents and balls of fire, with a beautiful efiect. 

The fireworks being over, the guests were invited to 
the lower terrace, where a supper was prepared, with tea 
and punch. Before the departure of the gentlemen of 
the mission and their escort, the president thanked them 
for their visit, and begged Messrs. Fox, Clay, Murray, and 
Beaumont, to accept the title of honorary members of the 
Imperial Society of Acclimatization, for which those gen¬ 
tlemen expressed their gratitude. 

The grounds of the society cover about thirty acres, 
and are very prettily laid out. Ice-hills and skating-ponds 


236 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


furnish amusement in winter to the people, a small ad¬ 
mittance fee being charged. 

August %5th (13th ).—Saturday opened as bright and 
beautiful as the preceding day. At ten o’clock the depu¬ 
ties of the city called on the Americans to invite them to 
visit some other of the remarkable sights of the city. As 
an excursion into the country was proposed, open car¬ 
riages were provided, harnessed d la yamstchik , some 
with three and Mr. Fox’s with four horses abreast; all 
the teams being decorated with red, white, and blue 
cockades, and shining silver plates, and hung with lit¬ 
tle bells which jingled merrily as they moved. Prince 
Stcherbatoif, who speaks English perfectly, rode in the 
first carriage with Mr. Fox. 

The first halt was made at the round stone tribune, 
near the Church of St. Basil, in the Kitai Gorod, 
outside the wall of the Kremlin, called the Lobnoe 
Miesto. Popular tradition says that this was the ancient 
place of execution, but it is more probable that it was 
used as a rostrum from which the Czars addressed the 
people on state occasions. It is not known when nor by 
whom it was built, but records prove its existence in the 
reign of Ivan the Terrible, in the middle of the sixteenth 
century. 

The Kitai Gorod, or Chinese city, is a quarter con¬ 
tiguous to the Kremlin, on the east side. In it is the 
famous Gostinnoy Dvor, or Bazaar of Moscow, where the 
greater part of the trade of the city is centred, and where 
may be found goods of every description, gathered from 


THE CATHEDRAL OF KAZAN. 


237 


all parts of the world. The great building covers three 
squares, and is intersected by hundreds of passages, the 
sides of which are lined by the shops. Each business has 
its own department or street: the silversmiths occupying 
one row, the cutlers another, the furriers a third, and so 
on. The shops are all small, but the store-rooms above 
them contain vast quantities of goods. Over seventy- 
five millions of rubles are invested beneath its roof. 

As the Americans passed through this labyrinth of 
streets, guided by an officer of police, all the shopkeepers 
and their assistants stood at their doors with cap in hand, 
to greet them. The alleys were crowded with streams 
of buyers and sellers, and it was not without some diffi¬ 
culty that the party made its way through. 

The Cathedral of Kazan, or of St. Basil, on the square 
between the Bazaar and the wall of the Kremlin, is a 
most remarkable structure, noticeable even in this city of 
strange sights. It is a building of two stories, surmount¬ 
ed by a dozen or more domes and cupolas, of different 
color, form, and height. This one is like an incipient 
bell-tower, that one is slim and pointed, a third resembles 
the folds of a turban, a fourth is an honest tower, a fifth 
is a globe crowned with a Greek cross on a crescent, a 
sixth is a cupola with pillars; and all these domes are 
painted in bright colors — some red, some blue, some 
gilded, giving to the whole a most grotesque appearance. 
It appears to be without any plan, but to have been put 
together piecemeal, as chance or some crazy imagination 
directed. It was built in 1554, by Ivan the Terrible, 
over the tomb of St. Basil, to commemorate his capture 


238 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


of Kazan, tlie great stronghold of the Tartars, on the 
Volga. The Czar was so pleased with the work, says 
tradition, that he had the eyes of the architect put out, 
for fear lest he should enrich another land with a similar 
architectural wonder. 

Having inspected the different chapels and the shrine 
of the saint, the party reentered the carriages and drove 
through the Tver Gate to Petrovskoe Razoumovskoe, 
about ten miles from the city, where is situated the Im¬ 
perial Agricultural Academy. The flags of the United 
States and of Russia were flying from the several build¬ 
ings, and Mr. Geleznoff, the director, the professors, and a 
large number of students, were in readiness to receive the 
guests. Mr. Geleznoff made a brief address of welcome, 
after which the visitors were shown over the building’s 
and grounds. The class-rooms, the chapel, the chemical 
laboratory, the departments of the natural sciences, of 
veterinary science, of comparative anatomy, etc., were in¬ 
spected and every thing explained. Lastly, the company 
were conducted to the splendid gardens of the academy, 
where, in a building decorated with flags, a lunch was 
found prepared, for which the morning’s excursion had 
provided ample appetites. 

The party drove next through the park of Petrovsky, 
viewing the palace in passing, and thence to the plain of 
Kudinskoe, where thirty thousand troops were in camp. 
Aide-de-Camp General Giildenstaube, commander of the 
military district of Moscow, had the men drawn up in 
line, without arms. He himself, surrounded by his staff, 
received the Americans, the bands meanwhile playing 


CALICO PRINT-WORKS. 


239 


“ Hail Columbia.” After a brief interview, the general 
called from the ranks a number of singers, who chanted 
some of the Russian soldiers’ songs. The time grew 
gradually faster, and some of the men struck into a wild 
dance, holding in each hand a stick to which ribbons and 
bells were attached. Their movements were rapid and 
exciting, somewhat resembling our Indian dances. 

The songs and dances ended, the visitors drove down 
the entire line of troops, the officers and men of each 
regiment saluting, and the bands playing our national 
air. The camp of the Military Academy of Alexander 
was next visited, after which the train started for the city, 
returning by the Prisnensky Gate. 

At the plain of Novo Dievitchy the calico print¬ 
works of the Messrs. Ganechin was visited. The proprie¬ 
tors received the Americans at the door, presented them 
with the customary bread and salt, and a drawing of the 
works, through which the visitors were shown in detail. 
Mr. Fox was also given a large number of the Messrs. 
Ganechin’s patterns, which he distributed, on his return 
home, among different New-England mills. They were 
used very extensively, and had the effect of changing 
almost entirely the styles in this country. These pat¬ 
terns were similar to those worn by the Tartars, the most 
of the calicoes made here finding a market in Bokhara. 

The workmen and the country-people near these mills 
were greatly interested in Commander Beaumont’s negro 
steward, Csesar, whom they surrounded and examined 
with unrestrained curiosity, having probably never before 
seen a black man. 


240 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


The Convent of Novo Dievitchy next opened its 
hospitable doors to the strangers, the abbess receiving 
them in person at the entrance with bread and salt, and 
conducting them into the church, where vespers were 
then singing. After the service, the five other churches 
and the various buildings within the walls were shown. 
The nuns did not appear to be kept so secluded as in the 
Roman Catholic convents, but were seen everywhere, and 
looked as if they enjoyed the sight of the visitors. The 
convent was founded in the beginning of the sixteenth 
century, in commemoration of the taking of Smolensk. 
It has been a favorite resort for the imperial princesses 
who have renounced the world. Sophia, the ambitious 
half-sister of Peter the Great, was imprisoned here, being 
forced to take the veil and live in rigid seclusion to the 
time of her death. She is buried -within its walls, as are 
several others of the imperial family. The lady-abbess 
presented Mr. Fox with a large number of interesting 
photographs. 

After a visit to the calico printing-works of Mr. Hiib- 
ner, where a lunch was served, the party returned to the 
city to make preparations for the municipal banquet, to 
take place the same evening. It is almost superfluous to 
state that throngs of people attended the Americans and 
greeted them with cheers wherever they went; and on 
their return to the hotel the open space in the front of 
the building was densely crowded. Indeed, the enthusi¬ 
asm of the citizens of Moscow over their guests appeared 
to be unbounded, and created an impression on the minds 
of the Americans not easily effaced. 


CHAPTER XYII. 


BANQUET OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF MOSCOW. 

HE municipal banquet took place in the Town Hall, 



a building well adapted for such a purpose. Its 
front was illuminated and festooned with flags. The vis¬ 
itors were received at the grand entrance, the avenues to 
which were crowded with people, by the officers of the 
city government. The staircases were aglow with lights 
surrounded by plants and flowers, and the walls were 
decked with shields and national emblems. The four 
great rooms had been converted into magnificent conser¬ 
vatories of rare flowers and shrubs, illuminated with hun¬ 
dreds of wax-tapers. The ornamentation of the dining¬ 
room was particularly beautiful. Flags, banners, and 
shields of arms, were displayed with great skill amid 
wreaths and garlands of green. At one end, on a ground 
of green leaves, was hung a full-length portrait of the 
Emperor, surrounded with Russian flags; and portraits 
of Washington, Lincoln, and Johnson, and of Messrs. 
Fox, Clay, Murray, and Beaumont, decked with wreaths 
and colors, graced the other walls. 

The company, numbering nearly four hundred, sat 


16 


242 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


down to the tables at seven o’clock and arose at eleven. 
The service' was magnificent, befitting the great and 
wealthy city of Moscow. A splendid band played during 
the dinner, giving the national airs of the two countries. 
There were many toasts and speeches, all of which were 
received with cheers that found an echo from the people 


in the street. 

The menu was as follows 

GRAS. 

1. Potage tomate Americaine. 
Consomme royale. 

2. Pites Russes: “ koulebiaka.” 

3. Sterlets & la Russe. 

Soudaks, sauce regence. 

4. Roast-beef. 

5. Creme de gelinottes aux truffes. 

6. Punch Imperial. 

7. Chouxfleurs et artichauts. 

8. Rots : faisans et gibier divers. 

9. Pudding: Moscovite. 

10. Fruits glacis k l’Americaine. 


MAIGRE.i 

1. Puree de “lattes.” 

2. P4tes Russe : “ koulebiaka.” 

3. Sterlets k la Russe. 

Soudaks. 

4. Mayonnaise de saumon. 

5. Pate cliaud de terchis aux truffles. 

6. Punch Imperial. 

7. Chouxfleurs et artichauts. 

8. Rots : poissons divers. 

9. Pudding: Moscovite. 

10. Fruits glaces a 1’Americaine. 


A card containing the programme of the music 
played during the evening was also placed beside each 
plate : 


ORCHESTRE DE M. SAX. 
Marche du Prophete 

Ouverture de l’opera “ La Vie pour l’Empereur ” 
Fantaisie sur le motif, “ Yankee Doodle ” 

Air de l’opera “ La Vie pour l’Empereur ” 
Quadrille, “ Amerikanische ” . 

Potpourri sur “ l’Africaine ” 

Valse, “ Die Pesther ” ... 

Polka, “ Electrofor ”... 


Meyerbeer. 
Glinka. 

Glinka. 

Gungl. 

Meyerbeer. 

Lanner. 

Strauss. 


1 The day was a fast day of the Greek Church, therefore a second bill of 
fare ( maigre , literally, lean) was provided for those who could not eat meats. 




THE MOSCOW BANQUET. 


243 


Prince Stcherbatoff, tlie Mayor of Moscow, gave the 
first toast. He said : 

“ The great nation of the other hemisphere sends ns 
her greeting—that glorious nation which has lately tri¬ 
umphed over her painful trial, and astonished the world 
by that new demonstration of her gigantic power. Pow¬ 
erful through her inexhaustible resources, still more so by 
her undaunted spirit, and full of faith in her future, the 
great North American nation has attained in the space 
of a few years what to others would have been the work 
of whole centuries, and has taken her place among the 
leading nations of the civilized world. 

“ Distant lands and the ocean divide us, but the spirit 
of man cares not for space, and our two peoples have long 
since united in thought and in feeling. 

“ With a loving interest do we follow each other’s suc¬ 
cesses, with mutual sympathy do we sustain each other in 
the hour of danger, and we unite to praise the glorious 
names of the great men whom Providence in mercy sends 
in the times of great nations’ trials. The name of Lincoln 
is one of those illustrious names. Untiring warrior for a 
sacred cause, he pressed forward, never losing sight of 
his guiding* star: and his death was the last tribute of his 
loyal service to his country and to humanity. But 
the great immortal idea did not perish with his life. 
Lincoln bequeathed the accomplishment of his work to 
his people, to his successor, and his last will is now nearly 
fulfilled. 

“ May God Almighty help you to reap the harvest of 
your glorious labors and endeavors; may He strengthen 


244 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


the ties of the revived Union of your great nation ; may 
the American people, blessed by peace, advance steadily 
onward to the realization of its glorious historical calling, 
with its chosen leader at its head ! 

“We drink to the welfare of the North American 
United States, and to the health of President Johnson.” 

Prince Stcherbatoff’s speech was received with loud 
and protracted cheering, again and again repeated, the 
band meanwhile playing “ Hail Columbia.” The scene 
was one of the most inspiring that had been witnessed 
since the arrival of the mission on Bussian soil, and 
proved how deeply the people of Moscow were touched 
by the unexampled course pursued by our country in 
sending her congratulations to the Emperor. 

As soon as the 'applause had subsided, Mr. Fox arose 
and gave the health of his Imperial Majesty in the fol¬ 
lowing words : 

“ To him whose empire extends from the Atlantic to 
the Pacific, and from the Arctic to the Mediterranean, 
but who possesses a greater empire in the affection and 
devotion of a valiant people—to the Emperor of all the 
Bussias.” 

A like applause followed this toast, the band playing 
the Bussian national hymn. 

Mr. Clay spoke next: 

“ I have now been in Bussia six years, and I think, 
therefore, that I speak not without a knowledge of the 
sentiments of those present when I propose to bear in 
memory, next to our great and good friend whose health 
has been drunk with so much feeling, her whose virtues 


THE MOSCOW BANQUET. 


215 


outshine the lustre of the Russian throne, him who in¬ 
herits the features, the temperament, and the auspicious 
name of his imperial parent, and those who are as ready 
to perform the duties as to share the honors of the house 
of Romanoff: I propose the health of her Imperial Ma¬ 
jesty, of the Hereditary Grand-duke Alexander, and of all 
the imperial family.” 

Mr. Liamin, president of the Exchange Committee, 
followed : 

“ Gentlemen, we would wish not only to efface from 
the memory of men, hut to suppress entirely from the 
series of events, the misfortune which had nearly hap¬ 
pened to us this year. The criminal hand of a murderer 
was raised toward the Russian sovereign, the sovereign 
who has abolished slavery in his vast empire, who has 
adopted as the problem of his reign the establishment in 
his dominions of an impartial and complete administra¬ 
tion of justice, and the bestowal upon all of liberty of 
thought and of speech, the highest rights of man. 

“ At the first news of his safety, came from every quar¬ 
ter congratulations for the happy preservation from the 
danger that menaced the life so priceless to us. "We have 
a firm and steadfast belief in the sincerity of this joy, for 
the blackest wickedness itself would vainly seek even the 
shadow of justification for such a repulsive attempt. But 
neither the sincerity nor the fulness of that joy has pre¬ 
vented those who have congratulated us from the use of 
the habitual forms of diplomacy. 

“ Pardon the exactions, excessive perhaps, of the Rus¬ 
sian heart; but it seems to it that the grandeur of the 


246 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


safety, the impossibility not to love the reforming mon¬ 
arch, in a word, the greatness of the transports of seventy 
millions of men, would awaken echoes out of the custom¬ 
ary forms of congratulation. 

“At this moment, gentlemen, a person is before you 
who has brought that unusual echo awaited by our hearts, 
who has rejected the rigor of diplomatic receptions, and 
in the excess of sympathy has discarded all the rules of 
the code of conventional compliments. 

“Not one person alone, but the whole Congress of the 
United States has chosen Mr. Fox as the eloquent inter¬ 
preter of the congratulations to our sovereign and to all 
of us—to all the Russian people. 

“ An entire squadron has been equipped and has trav¬ 
ersed half the world to bring to us, by the mouth of our 
dear guest, the joyous congratulations. We see not a 
simple form of diplomacy, but that open effusion coming 
from the heart. 

“ Can there be found a single Russian who will not 
proclaim aloud with me the cordial toast to the represent¬ 
ative of the great Congress—to its envoy, the Honorable 
Mr. Fox ? ” 

Mr. Fox replied in these terms : 

“ I do not understand the language in which these 
congratulations have been spoken, but the melody of 
friendly words reaches the heart without an interpreter. 
Visiting for the first time Holy Moscow, whose monu¬ 
ments were gray with age when America was discovered, 
we find ourselves strangers among you; strangers in lan¬ 
guage and in origin, but, in the presence of Him who of 


THE MOSCOW BANQUET. 


247 


one blood made all nations, we are brothers (applause). 
Welcome blossoms upon every lip. Whence arises this 
affinity between the two great powers of the East and of 
the West ? How is it that a modest villager, threading 
his way through the crowd, advanced, the first, to his 
sovereign, just at the proper moment to arrest the hand 
of an assassin? Divine Providence directs all things. 
(Prolonged cheers.) Russia and America are both pro¬ 
ceeding along a path to which no limit can be perceived. 
Russia, led by a resolute monarch, of a benevolent mind, 
inspired from above (loud cheers), advances toward the 
East, spreading the light of Christian civilization among 
the ignorant races of vast provinces that come under her 
sway. America, receiving with joy the surplus population 
of Europe, and fusing these wfith her own sons, into one 
nationality, moves without leadership toward the West, 
like the shadow of an eclipse, which covers by degrees the 
disk of the moon, and guided, like it, by the same om¬ 
nipotent Hand. The diverse systems of the two nations 
are human ; their tendency to the improvement of man¬ 
kind is Divine. From this similarity of endeavor springs 
our relationship, with its sacred impulses, yielding to which 
we contribute our effort to the Divine purpose.” (Long- 
continued applause.) 

Mr. Rezanoff, the dean of the Corporation of Mos¬ 
cow Merchants, after a short but pithy speech, gave a 
toast “ to the health and long stay in Russia of General 
Clay and Mr. Curtin.” 

Mr. Clay responded: 

“ I propose a toast to him who, always serving so 


248 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


courageously and so wisely the interests of his country, 
has known how, at the same time, to preserve a strong 
interest for other countries; a man horn in Russia, hut 
who by his liberal principles belongs to all nations; to a 
statesman, a diplomatist, and, above all, a philanthropist— 
to Prince Gortchakoff.” 

Mr. Curtin then spoke in the Russian language as 
follows: 

“ I thank you profoundly for the honor you have 
done me by the toast just given. In reply, permit me to 
propose another toast dear to my heart. There is in Rus¬ 
sia a city around which clusters many great memories of 
Russian history and of Russia’s life. It was in this city 
that the grand idea of the unity of the Russian empire 
was born. In this city was always found the living 
source of Russian strength, which has borne gladly all 
reverses, and supported all losses to create, strengthen, 
and cause to flourish a great and united Russian empire. 
This great thought has animated all the Russian people, 
and the desired object lias been attained. When I re¬ 
member that this city, during so many centuries, has been 
the rampart of Russian power, and that in those sorrowful 
days when others lost courage she remained steadfast; 
when I remember how she received her enemies, and 
when I experience how she welcomes her friends, I cannot 
help exclaiming: ‘ Great Moscow! I render thee hom¬ 
age ! ’ Gentlemen, I have the honor to give a toast to the 
mother of the Russian land.” 

Mr. Curtin’s speech was followed by loud and con¬ 
tinued applause, the company* pressing around to clink 


THE MOSCOW BANQUET. 


249 


glasses witli liim and to clasp his hand ; and the enthusi¬ 
asm did not abate until he had been tossed in the air, in 
true Russian style. 

Mr. Jakuntchikoff then spoke: 

“ Gentlemen : A Russian merchant, I arise, with pecul¬ 
iar gratification, to offer a toast that has an intimate con¬ 
nection with the success of commerce. There is a power 
which is both military and civilizing. The development 
of this power extends, without conquest, the boundaries 
of nations possessing it—in war, serving as the most 
powerful bulwark of national independence, and, in 
peace, as the most effectual means of commercial devel¬ 
opment. This power is the navy. This power is recog¬ 
nized by the civilized world, which now must confess 
that the mightiest naval power of the earth is the great 
American Republic, whose disinterested friendship we 
possess. The arrival of our honored guests has shown the 
depth of their sympathy for us, and has been the means 
of solving a great naval problem. This wonder of naval 
architecture, this vessel unique in structure, this floating 
fortress, hitherto considered as only fit for shore defence, 
the monitor Miantonomoh, after sweeping through the 
vainly-opposing waves of the ocean, and proudly showing 
its impregnable towers in the Thames, and on the shores 
of France, has come to us and united our Russia and 
America by a bridge which no artillery can destroy. To 
our enemies this bridge is inaccessible, for its foundations 
are laid in the waves of the ocean. I propose a toast in 
honor of Captains Murray, Beaumont, and the officers of 
the American squadron.” 


250 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


Captain Murray replied for himself and brother offi¬ 
cers. He said : 

“ In behalf of the little squadron, insignificant in point 
of guns and numbers, but, if taken in connection with 
events and the future, pregnant with significance; in be¬ 
half of the officers of that squadron I return my thanks for 
this complimentary toast. Our officers heard, long before 
they came to Russia, of your hospitality. They now feel 
it in their very hearts, and they thank the Russians. 
When they return they will carry with them the most 
grateful recollections of the few days they have spent 
in Russia. I have the honor to propose a toast to the 
health of the Governor-General of Moscow, Prince Dol- 
gorouky.” 

Mr. Pogodine next spoke: 

“ As an old Muscovite, thoroughly Russian, one whose 
life has been entirely devoted to the study of history, I 
ask the president to permit me to address a few words to 
our dear and honorable guests. Russia and America are 
near to each other in spite of the enormous distance be¬ 
tween them. It is, as we say in Russia, ‘ to be reached 
with the hand.’ The telegraph has accelerated our com¬ 
munication, but there is another wire more rapid than 
the electric ; there is another tie stronger than any metal 
or any diplomatic art, a tie that is expressed by our com¬ 
mon saying, ‘ The heart understands the heart.’ By a 
kind of instinct, by a second sight, like that we read of in 
Scott, we Russians and Americans have great consideration 
for each other, are equal in reciprocal love, and wish well 
each to the other, without any other thought, not being 


THE MOSCOW BANQUET. 


251 


able to explain even the reason of our mutual sincerity 
and warmth. The sympathy of our Government, as well 
as that of our people, makes itself loudly heard as soon as 
an opportunity presents. 

“For instance, I will mention two events of a recent 
date. An insurrection broke out in North America 
All of us Russians were heartily grieved, and, without 
wishing any material harm to the South, we hoped that 
the Union might rise from the struggle, as soon as possi¬ 
ble, complete and unharmed ; that the work of Washing¬ 
ton might not lose one particle of its greatness and 
splendor. The Emperor expressed this general feeling 
in words which were accepted with enthusiastic gratitude 
in America. Russia was menaced not long ago by a great 
calamity, from which God miraculously preserved her, 
visibly extending His hand. The United States have 
shown their lively joy at this happy event, so near to the 
feelings of our own people; and now, in order to express it 
before the Emperor, there comes to us across the sea, by 
order of the American Congress, a special ambassador, 
our honored guest now present, to whom we testify our 
heart-felt gratitude. 

“ I will add that this sympathy is increased by the 
resemblance of our institutions, by our connections with 
Europe, and history generally. I do not speak of the 
likeness as regards the extent of our territory, our power 
and means; nor of the abundance of our natural produc¬ 
tions. As regards institutions, the United States is a re¬ 
public, and Russia an absolute monarchy ; but here, as 
well as on the map, extremes meet. In the Russian ab- 


252 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


solute monarchy there is a democratic stream that flows 
uninterruptedly throughout its history. As regards the 
forms, all of them have lost much of their original mean¬ 
ing, and our honorable guests have justly remarked, in 
one of their speeches, that under our form one may 
progress; and they now hear in Moscow what they heard 
in St. Petersburg, that the Russians, thanks to our 
gracious Emperor—who marks a new era in our history 
—may express their ideas and reason as freely as people 
do in New York. 

“ I have but to speak, in conclusion, of the resem¬ 
blance between Russia and the United States in reference 
to the Old World. It is impossible not to agree that Eu¬ 
rope looks on the New World with some apprehension, some 
suspicion, some jealousy. I believe I make no mistake in 
asserting that the principal European governments, influ¬ 
enced severally by their own views and particularities— 
and I do not blame them—did not look at the American 
conflict so impartially and disinterestedly as we did. 
They rather wished that there should be two Unions in¬ 
stead of one. They regard with the same eyes the other 
New World—I mean Russia. For fifty years, during the 
reigns of Alexander I. and of Nicholas, Russia was the 
chief supporter of peace in Europe, without regard to her 
own interests; but, as soon as there was an opportunity, 
all this was forgotten, and Europe, without cause, leagued 
with Turkey against us, with the only aim of weakening 
our power by attacking us suddenly. Where are we to 
look for the cause of such a disposition ? Perhaps in 
the jealousy of her old age, in the general and involuntary 


THE MOSCOW BANQUET. 


253 


conviction that America and Russia will have as much in 
their future as she has had in her past. 

“ Yes, it is evident, by all the combinations of the sci¬ 
ence of history, that to Russia, as well as to America, a 
great future is reserved, to which we are now drawing 
near, thank God, with hope and faith. Let us wish that 
the friendly union between the two governments may 
pass from an ideal to an actual one, so that we may 
advance hand-in-hand ; that both the nations may de¬ 
velop, ripen, and strengthen this idea of mutual coopera¬ 
tion on this glorious road as far as possibility will permit. 

“ Allow me, gentlemen, to propose a toast that, with 
the help of the Almighty, Russia, as well as America, may 
grow in strength and prosperity, and at the same time 
that Europe may know peace, that all her questions may 
be resolved for the real good of all her people, including 
the unhappy and forgotten Slavonians, for the welfare 
of humanity at large—white, black, red, and bronzed.” 
(Loud applause.) 

After a toast to the American ladies, proposed by Mr. 
Gorboff, Mr. Sukhotine read Mr. Maikoffs version of the 
poem written by Oliver Wendell Holmes, which was re¬ 
cited first at the Merchants’ Dinner in St. Petersburg. It 
was received with deafening applause, and with nine 
cheers for its author. 

Prince Stcherbatoff then gave the health of the trans¬ 
lator of the poem and Mr. Potemkine, the attorney to the 
Synodal Board of Moscow, spoke of the proposal to erect 
a Russian church in Hew York City, for which, according 
to a communication received from Mr. de Stoeckl, the Rus- 


254 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


sian minister at Washington, a subscription in America 
had produced already seven thousand dollars. Mr. Potem- 
kine added that Russian merchants had already answered 
to the appeal of the attorney-general of the holy synod on 
this subject, and that the other classes of the population 
would answer without doubt equally to this appeal; and 
he showed, as a new proof of the sympathy of the Amer¬ 
icans, the interest and the share taken by them in the 
construction of this church. 

Mr. Curtin expressed, in the name of General Clay, 
his entire concurrence in the remarks of Mr. Potemkine, 
and the hope that the Russians would soon find, in com¬ 
ing to New York, an orthodox church worthy of the 
Greek religion. Mr. Clay, he said, would subscribe five 
hundred rubles, and Mr. Fox as much; and he believed 
that private subscriptions in New York would yet yield 
twenty-five thousand more. He was certain, too, that 
twenty-four thousand rubles, additional to the thousand 
given by Messrs. Clay and Fox, would be raised in Russia. 

After dinner a subscription-paper was started by Mr. 
Samarine, who himself headed it with one thousand 
rubles. 

Mr. Gorboff spoke next, closing with these words: 

“Let us hope, gentlemen, in ending this banquet, for 
the prompt and complete development of the material 
well-being, the moral prosperity, the civilization in the 
same degree, of all our Russian brethren, lately serfs, and 
of the emancipated negro race of North America.” 

After a few remarks by Mr. Janovsky, Mr. Kokoreff 
paid the following tribute to the memory of Lincoln : 


TIIE MOSCOW BANQUET. 


255 


“ The greatest of all forces on earth is the force of 
thought and will, bestowed by Providence on the happy 
few. This force has had three gigantic utterances in the 
blew World. By this force Columbus discovered the New 
World, Washington founded its civilization, and Lincoln 
gave equal rights to his countrymen, by abolishing slavery. 
Sentiments of thankfulness and gratitude at the name of 
Lincoln, for what he did for the good of mankind, are 
felt as a duty by every Russian. All the actions of Lin¬ 
coln, as our mayor, Prince Stcherbatoff, has observed, 
sprang from the force of his character, from his steadfast 
aspiration toward the proposed aim, in spite of every 
obstacle. When a youth in poor circumstances, in New 
Salem, Lincoln used to say : 4 Failures ought not to de¬ 
prive us of courage ; on the contrary, they are the means 
of exciting the activity of the brain.’ 

“ Here is one of the many facts of the life of Lincoln, 
which may give us a clear notion of the force of his convic¬ 
tions : Lincoln established, in connection with one of his 
friends, a grocery, but the enterprise did not succeed, and 
his associate deemed it necessary to add to their business 
the sale of wine and tobacco. Notwithstanding his friend¬ 
ship for his partner, and the bad state of his affairs, Lincoln 
declined the proposal, for he stoutly defended the principle 
of temperance. Ilis refusal occasioned the loss of his for¬ 
tune, and brought him, proportionately to his means, 
largely into debt. This failure obliged him to study— 
what would you think ? Grammar and law! 

“ Lincoln’s own life was for him the best intelligence- 
book in the many branches of popular activitv into which 


256 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


lie drifted. Before he attained his twenty-eighth year, he 
had passed through the following occupations: farm-la¬ 
borer, wood-cutter, carpenter, workman on railways and 
steamboats, ship-carpenter, boatswain, clerk in a shop and 
a mill, grocer, captain of militia, postmaster, and surveyor. 
In all these employments Lincoln showed an unswerving 
devotion to the truth, but his great intellectual powers 
needed a wider career. He passed his examination, and 
became a lawyer. In this profession his veracity became 
so celebrated that people called him 1 Honest Abe.’ 
With a great store of knowledge in almost every branch 
of human life and pursuits, Lincoln served several times 
as a member of the Legislature, and as a presidential 
elector. In these positions, and as a lawyer, he led for 
more than twenty years a remarkable public life. On 
every occasion possible he obstinately pursued his favorite 
idea of freeing his fellow-man from slavery. He was 
deeply devoted to this idea, because it was his heart and 
the grandeur of America that wanted it, and because he 
had been in his youth a witness of the trials of the slaves. 

“ Although he began his grammar studies late, in his 
twenty-fourth year he acquired such eloquence that all 
America listened to his speeches with enthusiastic appro¬ 
bation. His illustrations had the particular and rare 
quality of being taken from practical life. Strange to 
theoretical allurements, they were founded on experience 
acquired on the farm, in the shop, in the wood, on the 
steamboat, in the courts, and in political and legislative 
assemblies. The value which the Horth American States 
attached to the all-comprehensive capacities of Lincoln, 


THE MOSCOW BANQUET. 


257 


and the sincerity of his words, is shown by the fact that 
the edition of his speeches published in 1858 sold to the 
number of nearly a million volumes. This acknowledg¬ 
ment was followed by another: Lincoln was elected 
President of the United States, and under what circum¬ 
stances ? The election took place at the time when the 
Southern States were preparing for secession, when they 
had in store a large quantity of arms, and when, after 
having taken a fortress, they had led their army against 
Washington, where there were not even a thousand sol¬ 
diers to meet their attack. Lincoln’s popularity and his 
ability carried all obstacles before him. It attracted to 
Washington troops from all the Northern States, and 
saved the capital from danger. A year later live hundred 
thousand soldiers were in the field. At the end of four 
years Lincoln was again elected President. We may 
easily imagine the triumph of his people on this occasion, 
when even in Russia there was an outbreak of universal 
jubilation at the news. We all saw in this reelection the 
pledge of the triumph of the Northern over the Southern 
States. 

“Rumors of threats, and of attempts made against 
the life of Lincoln, produced the greatest sorrow in Rus¬ 
sia. We feared for a life not only indispensable for the 
New World, but precious for all mankind. The gloomy 
apprehensions were not dispelled, when our whole coun¬ 
try was astounded by the shocking news that on the 15th 
of April, 1865, the traitorous hand of a murderer cut 
short the life of him who called up to an independent 

life millions of slaves, who during the whole war trav- 

17 


258 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


elled without any guard, who received every one without 
announcement, who could have been killed.at any mo¬ 
ment, but who was guarded by Providence for the fulfil¬ 
ment of His decrees. But when the great deed of Lin¬ 
coln’s was done, and mankind stretched out its hands to 
put the laurels of merited glory upon his head, the Most 
High called him up to Him, to receive a higher, heavenly 
reward. Men are not able to reward the deeds of a life 
which was entirely devoted to acts of philanthropy and 
of truth. Only He who was crucified for the benefit of 
mankind, the Almighty Son of God, can reward such 
deeds. 

“ Then with the profoundest reverence let us lift our 
hands to Heaven, and express our sincere gratitude, and 
the wish of an eternal memory to the name of the friend 
of mankind, and the defender of truth—Abraham Lin¬ 
coln ! ” 

The toast was drunk with every mark of respect for 
the memory of the “ Martyr President,” after which Mr. 
Kokoreff continued: 

“Having given utterance to our mournful feelings 
in commemoration of Lincoln, I propose, gentlemen, 
another toast—to the health of his widow and two sons, 
and to the prosperity of all the inhabitants of Springfield, 
where was brought up, in our own time, this great man, 
the glory of America and of all mankind, of the Old and 
of the Hew World.” (Applause). 

Mr. Sehipoff, one of the leading merchants of Moscow, 
followed. He said: 

“ The presence here of our esteemed guests is full of 


THE MOSCOW BANQUET. 


259 


significance. In their persons, a nation, occupying a fore¬ 
most place in the civilized world, greets us with sympathy 
and good-will, encouraging us in our labor of regenera¬ 
tion, joining in our rejoicings at the fortunate deliverance 
of our beloved monarch—of him who has done so much 
for the happiness and welfare of mankind. Such an ex¬ 
pression of good-will by a great nation we prize most 
highly, and we entreat our esteemed guests to convey to 
their fellow-countrymen the assurance of our most hearty 
thanks and warmest sympathy. Between the United 
States and Russia there have never been any hostilities ; 
but at no time hitherto has the mutual good-will between 
the two countries found such strong utterances as of 
late. 

“ With unexampled energy and valor the North Ameri¬ 
can States fought for the abolition of slavery at the same 
time that Russia was accomplishing the emancipation of 
twenty million serfs. In the United States self-govern¬ 
ment is developed in the highest degree; and Russia, too, 
is introducing it in her municipal corporations. In the 
United States the courts of justice are open ; Russia is es¬ 
tablishing the like system, and already the people rejoice 
at the beneficial effects of its institution. Both countries 
are great in territory, both contain inexhaustible treas¬ 
ures ; but these treasures require development, and this 
development can only be attained by means of adequately 
remunerated capital and labor. Of this the United States 
are fully convinced, and, consequently, in their commercial 
policy, maintain strictly the principle of protection, not 
suffering themselves to be misled by the plausible theories 


260 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


of certain economists. Russia, too, is beginning to un¬ 
derstand that in strict protection of national labor, in 
connection with a full development of the resources of a 
country, lies the secret of national wealth. And by no 
one has this truth been so clearly and so convincingly put 
as by that highly-respected American political economist, 
Carey, and by our esteemed guest, now for the second 
time in Moscow, General Clav. Like them, we believe 
that love toward mankind begins with love toward one’s 
own country, and a proper encouragement of national 
labor. In whatever direction we turn, we see everywhere 
that Russia and America are so directed by the hand of 
Providence that their individual interests not only do not 
impede, but, on the contrary, promote their mutual de¬ 
velopment; consequently, the more Americans and Rus¬ 
sians love their country, the nearer they draw toward each 
other. Such, then, being the case, gentlemen, can a Rus¬ 
sian, devoted to his country, heart and soul, do less than 
propose a toast to the everlasting and ever-increasing 
friendship between Russia and America ? Here, in our 
ancient capital, replete with true Russian life, let us raise 
our glasses to the welfare, prosperity, and power of the 
two nations whom a great future surely awaits.” 

A toast to the health of the Mayor of Moscow, Prince 
Stcherbatoff, was then given, after which Prince Dolgo- 
rouky closed the long series of toasts with one to “ the 
health of our dear guests, and of all those who have 
spoken so feelingly and so fervently on this memorable 
occasion.” 

After the dinner, the company adjourned to another 


THE MOSCOW BANQUET. 


201 


room, where tea and punch were prepared, and engaged 
in friendly conversation until long after midnight. 

Each of the Americans was presented, in remem¬ 
brance of the visit, with the first volume of Martinoff’s 
edition of “The Remarkable Historical Monuments of 
Moscow.” To Mr. Fox was also given an album of ten 
photographic views of Moscow. 


CHAPTER XVIII. 


KUZMINKI-PRINCE GALlTZINE’s PETE — THE FOUNDLING 

ASYLUM—THE ROMANOFF HOUSE—SOKOLNIEI PARK. 

y| TJG UST 2 6th (14 th ).—The charming weather which 
had thus far accompanied the mission, changed on 
Sunday morning, and heavy clouds threatened rain. 

Mr. Fox called on Prince Stcherhatoff, the mayor, 
and afterward attended services at the English chapel in 
Tchernichefsky Pereulok. There is a numerous colony 
of English and American residents in Moscow, and the 
chapel is well sustained. 

At half-past three o’clock in the afternoon the party 
started in carriages for Kuzminki, the estate of Prince 
Galitzine, distant about twelve miles from Moscow. It is 
one of the most beautiful places in the environs of the 
ancient city. Its proprietors, who have long been among 
the wealthiest of Russia’s princes, have often entertained 
crowned heads at their residence, as is attested by numer¬ 
ous monuments erected in the magnificent park. 

A drizzling rain had set in as the gayly-decked car¬ 
riages, with horses harnessed d la yamstchik , and drivers 
with American cockades in their hats, passed through the 


KUZMINKI. 


263 


Petrovsky Gate, and took the road for Kuzminki, but it 
did not dampen the ardor of the people. The villages on 
the route wore the air of a holiday, and the roadsides 
were thronged with peasants, who took off their hats and 
hurrahed as the train of vehicles dashed by. 

On arriving at the park gate, which was decorated 
with the American shield and with the intertwined colors 
of the two countries, Prince Galitzine, wearing the scarlet 
uniform of the hussar regiment of his Majesty’s guard, 
rode out on horseback and welcomed his guests. At the 
same time a military band, stationed in the shrubbery, 
struck up “ Hail Columbia,” and a crowd of peasants 
cheered lustily. The Prince, who was a young man 
of twenty-four years, rode beside Mr. Fox’s carriage 
through the park to the chateau, where the whole 
party alighted. 

Kuzminki, formerly a shooting-lodge of Peter the 
Great, was given to the Galitzines by the Empress Anne. 
The park, which is surrounded by a flat, arid country, is 
as beautiful as an oasis in the desert. A small stream 
runs through the grounds. The monuments erected to 
commemorate the visits of different sovereigns of the Em¬ 
pire are of cast-iron, from the Prince’s founderies in Si¬ 
beria. Over the entrance to the stables, which are worthy 
of royalty, are two large cast-iron horses, also made at 
the Prince’s works. 

The Americans were first invited to a part of the park 
where a deputation of peasants of the commune of Yi- 
khotskaia, ancient serfs of the Galitzine family, awaited 
them. At their head was the mayor of the neighboring 


264 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


village, Epliim Yassilieff Gvozdeff, also an emancipated 
serf, who presented Mr. Fox with, bread and salt, on a 
silver salver, with these words : 

“We wish to tell the envoy that we are come to con¬ 
gratulate him on his arrival, and to present him with 
bread and salt, and also to say that we love him, and that 
we shall remember the love of his people for our country 
and our sovereign.” 

Struck by this simple speech, and the unexpected dep¬ 
utation of peasants, Mr. .Fox accepted the bread and salt, 
and thanked the mayor in sympathetic words. 

After an hour’s stroll through the beautiful grounds, 
the guests of Kuzminki were invited to dinner, which 
was served in the rotunda of the chateau. Portraits of 
the Emperor and the Empress, of Washington, Lincoln, 
and Johnson, and of Messrs. Fox, Clay, Murray, and 
Beaumont, hung on the walls, decked with flowers, 
greens, and flags. The table glittered with the magnifi¬ 
cent family plate, with golden candelabras, and vases of 
Sevres porcelain, among the rarest of exotic flowers. 
Bands, concealed from sight, played the airs of the two 
countries. The menu , written in black and gold on glazed 
paper, with the Galitzine arms in relief at the top, was as 
follows: 

DINER DU |~§- AOUT, 1866. 

1. Soupe Talleyrand. 

2. Consomme garni. 

3. Petits pat6s divers. 

4. Filet de boeuf a l’Africaine. 

5. Sterlet it la Russe. 

6. Fromage de gibier. 

7. Punch glacA 


PRINCE GALITZINE’S FETE. 


265 . 


8. Volailles divcrses. 

9. Petits pois et artichauts. 

10. Baba Parisien. 

11. Timbale New York. 

Among the invited guests at the dinner was the eman¬ 
cipated serf, Gvozdeff, the mayor of the commune. 

When the champagne appeared, Prince Galitzine gave 
the first toast, in the following words: 

“Excuse me, gentlemen, if I cannot find words to ex¬ 
press my thanks for the honor you confer on me, although 
I ought to recollect that I owe this honor to the ancient 
masters of this chateau, my ancestors. Citizens of a pow¬ 
erful republic, I thank you for having desired to see a 
house in which, more than once, its faithful and zealous 
subjects have received the visit of the reigning sovereign, 
whose true greatness has inspired your people with so 
touching a sympathy. You, gentlemen, my countrymen, 
I thank you with all my heart for honoring the memory 
of my ancestors. I have the honor to propose a toast to 
the President, Mr. Johnson, and to the Congress of the 

United States of America.” 

This was received with applause by the guests within 
and with tremendous cheers by the crowd, assembled in 
the park, with the firing of artillery, and with music by 
the band. 

Mr. Fox replied: 

“ Prince Galitzine is probably the youngest person sit¬ 
ting at our table, but the idea of uniting beneath this his¬ 
torical roof the representatives of Pussia and America, to 
enable them under such charming influences to strength- 


266 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


en their mutual sympathies, is worthy of more mature 
years, and is in accord with the traditions of that eminent 
family of which he is the representative. Let us, gentle¬ 
men, follow the example which he has just given to us, in 
drinking the health of our President and Congress, and 
unite in offering the sincerest wishes of our hearts for the 
happiness of Alexander II.” 

This was received with great enthusiasm, the band 
playing the Russian national hymn. 

Prince Galitzine next toasted Mr. Fox, and General 
Clay followed with the health of the Empress, the heredi¬ 
tary Grand-duke, and the Imperial family. The Prince 
then toasted General Clay, Captain Murray and Com¬ 
mander Beaumont, and all his guests, to which Captain 
Murray replied by giving the health of the host. After 
a toast to Prince Dolgorouky, General Clay closed the 
series of healths with one to the absent lady of the man¬ 
sion. 

After dinner the guests were shown to the drawing¬ 
rooms and balcony, before which a band of music was 
playing. A large number of ladies from the country 
about Kuzminki awaited the coming of the gentlemen, 
and, the most of them speaking English fluently, the con¬ 
versation soon became animated. 

The music of an orchestral band in the rotunda pres¬ 
ently announced that the punch had been lighted, after 
partaking of which, the party returned to the balcony to 
witness the fireworks. Although the evening was still 
damp, the rain had ceased, and the display was a fine one. 
The guests were invited next to the landing-place of the 


PRINCE GALITZINE’S FETE. 


267 


lake in tlie park, where firework swans floated on the 
water, and a grand triumphal arch, bearing the initials 
of Washington, Franklin, and Lincoln, in letters of fire, 
was exhibited. After the fireworks, the garden was beau¬ 
tifully illuminated with Bengal lights. 

When the company returned, they found the rotunda 
filled with peasants. An affecting scene took place. Mr. 
Fox presented an American flag to the mayor, Gvozdeff, 
who was at the head of the villagers, all of whom had 
been serfs, with these words: 

“ Accept this flag of my country. The colors are the 
same as those of Russia, though disposed in a different 
manner. This flag has often been displayed in battle, but 
is this day the standard of peace and good-will. Preserve 
it, that you, the emancipated Russian peasants, may rec¬ 
ognize the emblem of a friendly nation, that will always 
sympathize with the straggles of your class to place your¬ 
selves on a level with the benefits of civilization and free¬ 
dom, conferred by your well-beloved sovereign.” 

Tears stood in the eyes of a number of the old men as 
the mayor took the flag. 

“ Say to your countrymen,” said Gvozdeff, “ that we 
esteem that friendship, and that, if misfortune menaces 
one of us, both peoples will be united against the enemy.” 

The peasants then marched away in procession, bear¬ 
ing the American flag at their head. 

The party did not break up until after midnight. 
Prince Galitzine escorted his guests on horseback to the 
borders of his estates, through rows of bonfires, built on 
each side of the road, and bade them farewell at the gate. 


268 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


August %7th (15th ).—Monday being the annual feast- 
day of the Greek Church, the embassy attended services 
in the Cathedral of the Assumption, the most sacred 
church of Eussia. The splendor of this ancient building, 
the historical associations connected with it, and the mag¬ 
nificence of the Greek ceremonial, rendered the scene a 
most solemn and impressive one. This service was cele¬ 
brated by the Vicar of Moscow, his Eminence the Arch¬ 
bishop Leonidas. 1 

The Foundling Orphan Asylum was visited next, and 
afterward the Nicholas Institute. The former dates from 
the year 1763, in the reign of Catherine II. About 
twelve thousand children are admitted into this institu¬ 
tion, and more than two thousand women enter the se¬ 
cret wards of the lying-in hospital connected with it 
yearly. The infants receive the best of medical attend¬ 
ance, and the most careful nursing. If strong and 
healthy, they are sent, at the end of a month, together 
with their nurses, to the surrounding villages, where the 
physician of the district takes charge of them. On the 
visit of the mission, the “nurses, dressed in the national 
costume, and each holding a babe in her arms, were 
drawn up in lines in the different wards. The sight of 
three or four thousand infants thus exhibited, with proba¬ 
bly not one of their mothers present, was an interesting 
one. The effigy, in silver, of the great Empress Cathe¬ 
rine, the founder of this magnificent institution, was pre¬ 
sented to Mr. Fox. 

The Nicholas Institute is attached to the Asylum, but 

1 He was formerly an officer in the Imperial Navy. 


THE ROMANOFF HOUSE. 


269 


no foundlings are admitted. Its inmates are all female 
orphan children of the servants of the crown, the boys 
being cared for elsewhere. About eight hundred girls 
receive a good education here annually, and are obliged 
to serve the government for six years after graduation, as 
governesses and teachers, receiving a small salary for 
their services. 

The Americans were then shown the Romanoff 
house, the ancient building in which the Czar Michael, 
the first of the dynasty of Romanoff, was born, and where 
also his father, the Boyar Theodore, afterward Philaret, 
Patriarch of Moscow, was brought up. The house was 
burned in 1812, and the thick stone walls are all that re¬ 
main of the ancient structure. It was entirely restored 
about fifteen years ago, and now represents a Russian 
dwelling-house of the sixteenth century, being ornamented 
and furnished in the style of that period. 

In the afternoon, the Zoological Gardens were again 
visited, and the animals inspected by daylight. An ad¬ 
dress of welcome was presented to the mission by the 
directors, and Messrs. Fox and Clay, at the request of the 
members of the Society of Acclimatization, each planted 
a tree in memory of their visit. 

In the evening, the party went in carriages to the 
Hawk Park, Sokolniki, several miles out of Moscow. 
The weather was delightful, and the road thither was 
filled with vehicles and pedestrians, all on their way to 
this great public promenade. Many beautiful villas, be¬ 
longing to wealthy citizens, line the way. On arriving 
at the park, the carriages were left, and the party walked 


270 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


through its beautiful avenues and glades. Everywhere 
they went immense crowds greeted them. It was calcu¬ 
lated that more than sixty thousand people were present. 
After a time the pavilion of the rotunda was reached. 
All the grounds about it were illuminated with colored 
lamps. A band played our national air, and the people 
cheered, as Prince Dolgorouky and suite received the vis¬ 
itors at the entrance. After tea and refreshments, a com¬ 
pany of gymnasts and rope-dancers gave an entertain¬ 
ment, and the evening ended with music and a splendid 
display of fireworks. 


CHAPTER XIX. 


TROITZA MONASTERY — ST. SERGIUS — THE RUSSO - GREEK 

CHURCH-THE METROPOLITAN PHILARET — AMERIKAN- 

SKAIA AVENUE—DIPLOMA OF HONORARY CITIZENSHIP- 

NIJNY-NOVGOROD. 

/I UGUST 28 th (1 6£A).—On Tuesday morning, wliicli 
opened bright and clear, Messrs. Fox, Loubat, Clay 
and Curtin, Captain Murray, Commander Beaumont and 
other officers, and the accompanying Russians, went in 
a special railway-train to the celebrated Monastery of 
St. Sergius, at Troitza (Trinity), distant about forty miles 
from Moscow. 

This holy place has existed since the middle of the 
fourteenth century. It has not only a religious history, 
but also a record glorious in the country’s annals. The 
people name it with reverence, as one of the sanctuaries 
of the faith, and with love as one of the ramparts of the 
land. Three times has it turned back the tide of invasion 
and saved Russia. Mongols, Poles, and the insurgent 
Streltzi, were foiled by its embattled walls, and more than 
once have the vast riches of its cloisters helped the coun¬ 
try in its extremity. 


272 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


St. Sergius, its founder, whose baptismal name was 
Bartholomey, was born about the year 1304, in Rostof, of 
noble parentage. He was noted for his piety from his 
childhood, and many miracles are attributed to his earliest 
years, but at the request of his mother he did not take 
monastic vows until after the death of both his parents. 
He lived the life of an anchoret on the site of the pres¬ 
ent monastery for many years, suffering every privation. 
His reputation for sanctity at last drew around him a lit¬ 
tle colony of followers, and about the year 1342 a monas¬ 
tery, with Sergius as abbot, had grown up about his cell. 
The holy man led a simple life, laboring with his own 
hands, and crowning his work with deeds of charity. He 
was favored on several occasions, we are told, by visita¬ 
tions from on high, even the Virgin appearing to him 
once in person. In 1382, at the age of seventy-eight, St. 
Sergius was laid to rest beneath the church which he had 
founded. At the time of his death, the monastery had 
become rich and powerful, having vast estates and many 
dependants, but he retained his abstemious habits to the 
last. Thirty years afterward his relics were withdrawn 
from the tomb, in the presence of an immense assemblage 
of people, who had gathered from all parts of the empire 
to do honor to his memory, and placed in the splendid 
silver shrine, where they are to be seen to this day. 

At half-past eleven the Americans arrived at the 
Troitza railway-station, which was gayly decked with 
flags in honor of their coming, where they were received 
by the authorities and the representatives of the corpora¬ 
tions. The party drove at once to the hotel opposite the 


THE RUSSO-GREEK CHURCH. 


273 


monastery, the road thither being lined with people from 
the neighboring villages, who cheered loudly as they 
passed. - After a lunch, the Geothismansky Skit, or Her¬ 
mitage of Gethsemane, the summer-residence of his Emi¬ 
nence Philaret, the Metropolitan of Moscow, was visited, 
the venerable prelate having expressed a desire to receive 
his transatlantic friends in his cell. 

The Hermitage, which occupies a very pretty site, 
about a mile and a half from the monastery proper, was 
built in the year 1845. It, as well as the church con¬ 
nected with it, is remarkable for its simplicity. The 
altar and all of the sacred vessels used in the service are 
of wood. 

The Metropolitan of Moscow is one of the chief eccle¬ 
siastics of the empire. The Russian Church, while agree¬ 
ing in doctrine with the nine other branches of the ortho¬ 
dox Greek Church, is entirely distinct in its administra¬ 
tion. In 1588 the spiritual supremacy wdiich the Patri¬ 
arch of Constantinople had exercised was abolished, and 
Russia became an independent patriarchate. In course 
of time, its head assumed an authority almost equal to 
that of the Czar himself, and, on the death of the patri¬ 
arch, in the reign of Peter the Great, that monarch abol¬ 
ished the patriarchate, and transferred the government of 
the Church to the Holy Synod. 

The ecclesiastics of the Russo-Greek Church form two 
classes—the black clergy, so called from the color of their 
dress, who are bound by monastic vows, and the white or 
secular clergy. The higher ecclesiastics, the metropoli¬ 
tans, archbishops, and bishops, are chosen almost exclu- 
18 


274 


FOX’S MISSIOX TO RUSSIA. 


sively from the monks. A convent of monks is presided 
over by an archimandrite, or abbot, under whom are fri¬ 
ars, priests, and deacons. The white clergy, who perform 
all the common offices of the religion, are protopopes or 
archpriests, popes or priests, deacons, subdeacons, and 
readers. The black clergy are celibates ; the white clergy 
are allowed to marry once, but must do so before they 
enter the religious state. If the wife of a priest die, it is 
customary for him to give up his priestly functions, or to 
become a monk. There have been, however, of late years, 
some notable exceptions to this rule. 

The Holy Synod, which was instituted in 1721, has its 
seat at St. Petersburg. It was presided over, in 1866, by 
Isidore, Metropolitan of Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Es- 
thonia, and Finland. Its members were : Arsenius, Met¬ 
ropolitan of Kiew and Galicia; Philaret, Metropoli¬ 
tan of Moscow and Kolomna; Joseph, Metropolitan of 
Lithuania and Wilna; Eusebius, Exarch of Georgia, 
and Archbishop of Karthli and Ivakhetie; Eugenius, 
Archbishop of Moscow; the Protopope Basil Bajanoff, 
Almoner of their Imperial Majesties; the Protopope 
Michael Bogosslovsky, Grand Almoner of the Army and 
Navy; Philotheus, Archbishop of Tver and Kacliiue; 
Platon, Archbishop of Riga and Mitau ; Philaret, Bishop 
of Ufa and Menselinsk ; Innocent, Archbishop of Kamt- 
chatka; and the Procurer-General, the Privy-Councillor 
Count Tolstoy, Minister of Public Instruction. 

This body, in which is centred the government of the 
Russo-Greek Church, is dependent on the Emperor, who 
is nominally the head of the Church in all matters per- 


THE METROPOLITAN PHILARET. 


taining to administration; in questions of dogma and of 
rites it is independent. The Emperor is always repre¬ 
sented at its sittings, and its decrees have to he sanctioned 
by him before they become valid. 

The Metropolitan Philaret, who was seventy-four years 
of age at the time of the visit, received Mr. Fox with a 
short but touching speech, in which he assured him of 
his sincere and profound sympathy with his mission of 
peace. lie concluded by wishing that all Christian na¬ 
tions might entertain toward each other feelings as friend¬ 
ly as those which existed between Eussia and the United 
States. His Eminence then offered the American envoy 
his blessing, and, in memory of his visit, presented him 
with a picture of the Hermitage and of the shrine of St. 
Sergius. Notwithstanding his great age, 1 the Metropoli¬ 
tan lived in a narrow, scantily-furnished cell, with almost 
as much austerity as the founder of Troitza himself. 
He accompanied the visitors to the Church of the As¬ 
sumption, and explained to them, through the inter¬ 
mediation of Admiral Lessovsky, every thing of note 
within it. 

The party went next to the subterranean grottoes, or 
catacombs, dug by some of the more austere monks, who 
have made vows of seclusion from the light of day for¬ 
ever, and live a life of fasting and prayer. Two churches 
are connected with these cells, one above and one under 


1 Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, died in 1868, and was 
succeeded by Innocent, a priest who had won success as a missionary in 
Kamtchatka. This appointment was a noteworthy exception to the general 
custom of selecting the higher ecclesiastics from the monks. 


276 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


ground. About three or four miles from the Hermitage 
of Getlisemane is a miniature desert called Paraclete, in¬ 
habited by thirty monks, who live a still more secluded 
life, shutting; themselves out from all connection with the 
world. 

On arriving at the monastery, the Americans were re¬ 
ceived with the ringing of all the bells. The subprior, 
his Eminence the Archimandrite Anthony, met them at 
the gate and conducted them lirst to the shrine of St. 
Sergius, in the Cathedral of the Trinity. 

The walls of Troitza, which are twenty feet thick, and 
from thirty to fifty feet in height, enclose, within their 
circumference of about seven - eighths of a mile, ten 
churches and a number of other buildings. They have 
nine massive towers and two gate-ways. Vehicles pass 
through only one of the latter. The other, which is 
called the Holy Gate, is accessible only to those on foot, 
and is used for processions and for receptions of the Em¬ 
peror and members of the imperial family, and of the 
Metropolitan of Moscow, who is also prior of the monas¬ 
tery. In one of the towers are studios for photography 
and lithography, and in another is a reservoir for the 
water which supplies the whole convent. In old times 
the towers and the walls bristled with cannon. 

The principal church, that of the Holy Trinity, was 
built in 1422 by St. Nikon, the successor of St. Sergius, 
and contains the relics of the latter. The shrine in which 
they are exposed to view is of solid silver, and weighs 
nine hundred and thirty-six pounds. The church is of 
stone, decorated in the interior with paintings of the same 


TROITZA. 


277 


date, but which show many signs of modern restoration. 
The ikonastas is covered with paintings adorned with 
gold, silver, and precious stones, all gifts of different 
donors. Over the altar is a baldachin of silver gilt, sup¬ 
ported by silver columns, that weighs four hundred 
pounds. A candelabrum with seven branches, on the 
altar, weighs nine pounds of gold and thirty-two of 
silver. 

Among the more remarkable of the paintings on the 
ikonastas is one which was ornamented with gold and 
jewels by the Czar Boris Godunoff, and afterward by the 
Czar Michael, the founder of the Romanoff dynasty. A 
single emerald on this picture, engraved with a figure 
emblematic of the Trinity, is valued at twenty thousand 
rubles. Among the gifts are a number of valuable ones 
from the present Emperor and from different members of 
the imperial family. 

In the Church of St. Nikon the relics of that saint 
also are exposed in a silver shrine. Over the holy door 
in the ikonastas is an ancient picture of Our Lady of 
Jerusalem, said to have been brought from Greece 
by Prince Vladimir, the propagator of Christianity in 
Russia. 

In the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin is a 
large two-headed eagle, carved in wood, said to have been 
placed there by Peter the Great to commemorate his 
concealment under the altar during the revolt of the 
Streltzi. 

The great belfry near this church is two hundred and 
ninety feet in height, and contains forty bells, one of 


278 


FOX'S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


which weighs sixty-five tons. The building is of five 
stories, and is surmounted by a gilded cupola. 

To describe all the curious objects in this ancient 
monastery would require a volume. All the emperors 
have vied with each other in the richness of their gifts, 
and its churches exhibit a wealth of precious metals and 
stones almost incalculable. Every thing of interest was 
shown to the party, the churches and chapels, the vestries, 
the refectories, the academy, with its library, and all the 
sacred and the historical relics. 

On leaving, Mr. Fox was presented with a picture of 
St. Sergius by the subprior, who twice kissed and blessed 
him. 

At half-past three o’clock a special train took the party 
back to Moscow. In the evening all visited the theatre 
by special invitation, Messrs. Fox, Clay, Murray, and 
Beaumont, occupying the Governor’s box. The enter¬ 
tainment consisted of one act from the ballet of “ The 
Peri,” one from the ballet of “ Pharaoh’s Daughter,” and, 
by order of Prince Dolgorouky, one act from Glinka’s 
opera of “ Life for the Czar.” 

On the same day, at Cronstadt, a dinner was given to 
those of the crews of the American vessels who were un¬ 
able to attend the first banquet on account of duties on 
board ship. The dinner was served, like the former one, 
in the great alley of the summer garden, and was like it 
also in all its details. The feast passed off pleasantly, 
and a large crowd of people, who had gathered to see 
the jolly tars, appeared to enjoy it as much as the partici¬ 
pants. 


MOSCOW CITIZENSHIP. 


279 


August 29 th (17th ).—On Wednesday morning, at lialf- 
past ten o’clock, the mission left Moscow for Nijny-Hov- 
gorod. Before his departure, Mr. Fox was invited to name 
a new avenue which had just been opened in the suburbs 
of the city. He called it the American (Amerikanskdia) 
Avenue, a name which will commemorate forever the mis¬ 
sion of peace in which he was the chief actor. 

The diploma of honorary citizenship presented to our 
envoy by the city of Moscow is very elaborate and beau¬ 
tiful, both in design and in execution. It is exquisitely 
drawn in water-colors, on heavy board, thirty-six by thir¬ 
ty inches in size. The border is architectural, in the By¬ 
zantine style, and comprises a broad base, enclosing a view 
of the Ivremlin and the bridge leading to it; a tower and 
minaret on each side, the two connected at the top by an 
ornamental arch, and shadowy battlements behind. At 
the base of each minaret is a medallion ; that on the left 
representing the churches in the Kremlin, that on the 
right, the bronze monument of Minin and Pojarsky, near 
the Kremlin. The peasant Minin is standing in a com¬ 
manding attitude, with upraised arm, calling on the boyar 
Pojarsky to aid in driving the Poles from his country. In 
the centre of the arch is a shield, displaying St. George 
and the Dragon, 1 the arms of Moscow; and above all, the 


1 This was the cognizance of the Grand-dukes of Russia until the mar¬ 
riage of Ivan III. with Sophia, the daughter of the last Greek Emperor, 
when that monarch, hoping to make Moscow the heir of Byzantium, then in 
possession of the Turks, adopted for the national arms the two-headed eagle. 
This imperial symbol is said to have been first adopted by Constantine, to 
denote that, although the empire seemed divided into East and West, it was 
yet but one body. 


2S0 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


imperial arms, tlie double-headed eagle surmounted by the 
crown. 

The inscription within the arched border is in the Rus¬ 
sian language. Translated, it is as follows: 

GUSTAYUS YASA FOX, 

YTio presented to his Imperial Majesty the congratu¬ 
lations of the Xorth American Congress, on the occasion 
of deliverance from the danger which menaced his Majes¬ 
ty and all the Russian people, by the resolution of the 
Municipal Council of Moscow, approved by his Majesty 
on the 25th of August, 1866, and in token of the par¬ 
ticular regard of the citizens of Moscow for him as a 
worthy representative of the great Xorth American peo¬ 
ple, friendly to Russia, is acknowledged 

Honorary Citizen of Moscow. 

The Mayor of Moscow: 

(Signed) Prince Y ladimir Tchercassky. 

Aldermen: 

(Signed) Prince Dmitry Galitzine, 

Constantine Gildbach, 

Yassily Bostanjoglo, 

Yassily Torgasheff, 

Jacob Bushanoff. 

Assistant Aldermen: 

(Signed) Michael Bibicoff, 

Yladmir Yichniaeoff, 

Ivan Baclanoff, 
Alexander Gorbunoff, 
Gregory Orloff. 


FAREWELL TO MOSCOW. 


281 


The diploma is enclosed in a splendid portfolio of em¬ 
bossed leather, ornamented at the pointers and in the cen¬ 
tre with silver filigree-work, Byzantine in style, after de¬ 
signs by Sazikoff, the famous silversmith of St. Petersburg. 
It is of a single piece of leather, and is embossed by a 
plate of the full size. 

The work required several months for its execution. 
It was retained in Russia some time for exhibition, and 
sent to Mr. Fox, after his return home, through the State 
Department. 

When the news was received in FTijny-JSTovgorod that 
Mr. Fox contemplated visiting that ancient town, a depu¬ 
tation, consisting of Messrs. Gubino and Yolkoff, repre¬ 
senting the city, and Messrs. Losseff, Korniloff, and Ko- 
toff, appointed by the merchants of the fair, came at once 
to Moscow w r ith a special invitation, which was accepted 
with thanks, and the day of departure was fixed for the 
29tli (17th) inst. One of the deputies, Mr. Korniloff, re¬ 
mained over to accompany the party. A special car 
attached to the regular train was used until the arrival 
at Yladimir, where a special train was provided for the 
remainder of the journey. 

A number of the principal inhabitants of Moscow, wdio 
had become acquainted with the Americans during their 
brief visit, called to bid them farewell at the hotel and ac¬ 
companied them to the railway-station, where a crowd of 
people had gathered to witness the departure. When Mr. 
Fox and party entered the station accompanied by Prince 
Dolgorouky, Prince Stclierbatoff, and many other officials, 
a band played our national air y and the crowd cheered en- 


282 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


tliusiastically. Mr. Fox thanked them for the cordiality 
of his reception and for the hospitality he had received, 
and left the ancient city amid the expressed regrets of her 
citizens. Mr. Clay did not go to Nijny-Novgorod, but re¬ 
turned to St. Petersburg. 

The journey from Moscow to Hijny-Nbvgorod, two 
hundred and seventy-three miles by rail, was a pleasant 
one, though the country is not very attractive to the eye. 
The same flat sandy soil, with occasional swamps, as that 
between St. Petersburg and Moscow, stretches away on 
each side as far as one can see. These plains, however, 
are rich in agricultural products. The railway-stations are 
large, commodious buildings of brick and stone, laid in al¬ 
ternate courses, and every thing is provided within them 
for the comfort of travellers. Crowds of people from the 
neighboring villages were collected at almost all of them 
along the route, who greeted the Americans with cheers, 
music, and the display of flags. 

At Vladimir the party found a dinner prepared for 
them in the railway-station, at the city’s expense. The 
machine-shops of the company, located here and carried 
on by French capitalists, were visited. The town, which 
has a population of about fifteen thousand inhabitants, 
is an ancient one, having been founded in the twelfth cen¬ 
tury. 

At Kovroff, the mayor and other officials awaited the 
arrival of the train. It is a small place of about four thou¬ 
sand inhabitants, situated, like Vladimir, on the river Kli- 
asma. Mr. Fox received here a telegram announcing the 
arrival at Aijny-Vovgorocj. of their Imperial Highnesses 


NIJNY-NOY GOROD. 


283 


tlie Hereditary Grand-duke Alexander and liis brother, 
the Grand-duke Vladimir. 

At Viazniki, a town celebrated for its linen manufac¬ 
tures, tbe party took tea. The people there were particu¬ 
larly enthusiastic in their reception, strewing the way 
with flowers and evergreens. 

Nijny-JSTovgorod was reached about midnight. The 
railway terminus was illuminated, and a band played our 
national air as the train entered. The station-house was 
filled with people, and a vast crowd occupied the neighbor¬ 
ing streets. A large number of the principal merchants, 
headed by a body of committee-men in full dress, greeted 
Mr. Fox as he stepped upon the platform. Short speeches 
of welcome were made by the marshal of the nobility 
of the province and by the mayor of the city, to which 
our envoy replied fittingly. The guests were then con¬ 
ducted to carriages in waiting, and, preceded by Cos¬ 
sacks, who cleared a passage through the crowd, were 
driven to the residence of Mr. Jouravleff, who, like 
Mr. Kokoreff at Moscow, had proffered the hospitalities 
of his house. 

In crossing the long bridge of boats over the Volga, 
which is two-tliirds of a mile wide at this point, an en¬ 
chanting picture came into view. The hundreds of ves¬ 
sels on the river and the houses along its banks were illu¬ 
mined with lamps and lanterns, and the mountain, with 
Minin’s tower on its summit, blazed with Bengal lights. 
All were lighted at once by electricity, producing a star¬ 
tling: and beautiful effect. The house of Mr. Jouravleff 
was also hung with Russian and American flags. The il- 


284 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


lumination was in lionor of tlie Grand-dukes, wlio had 
arrived that day. 

Xijny-Novgorod, or Lower Novgorod, so called to dis¬ 
tinguish it from its more ancient namesake, Great Nov¬ 
gorod, contains ordinarily about forty thousand inhabi¬ 
tants ; but, during its annual fair, its population numbers 
usually nearly a quarter of a million. At the time of the 
visit of our mission, it was estimated that more than 
three hundred thousand souls were in the town. The 
number is always calculated by the amount of bread sold 
by the bakers on each day. 


CHAPTER XX. 


OFFICIAL VISITS—TOMB OF MININ—VIEW FROM THE KREM¬ 
LIN-THE GREAT FAIR-THE VOLGA-THE TEA-TRADE- 

THE MERCHANTS’ DINNER-RUSSIAN GYPSIES. 

j\ UGTJST 2>0tb (18 th). —Thursday opened bright and 
clear. At ten o’clock Mr. Fox, Captain Murray, and 
Commander Beaumont, accompanied by Admirals Lessov- 
sky and Gorkovenko, paid their respects to their Imperial 
Highnesses, the Cezarevitch Alexander Alexandrovitch 
and the Grand-duke Vladimir Alexandrovitch. They 
afterward made official calls on the governor, Lieutenant- 
General Odintzoff, and the temporary governor (appoint¬ 
ed during the fair), Aide-de-Camp-General Ogareff. The 
official quarters were in the Kremlin, which, like that at 
Moscow, is a hill crowned with a massive wall, with 
towers at the angles, and with battlements and loop-holes 
for musketry. Within the enclosure are a church, the gov 
eminent palace, the courts of law, barracks, arsenal, and 
other buildings. On the esplanade stands the tomb of 
Minin, the Russian patriot, who was a native of Nijny- 
Hovgorod. It is a handsome chapel, with an octagonal 
tower, capped with a pyramidal steeple and a pointed 


286 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


dome. Minin, in tlie early part of the seventeenth cen¬ 
tury, roused his countrymen against the Poles, who had 
overrun Russia. He persuaded Prince Pojarsky to take 
the command of the forces raised, and the enemy were 
driven from the land. His victorious banner, which is re¬ 
ligiously preserved in the chapel, was brought out at the 
time of the French invasion, and again borne against the 
foe, creating the utmost enthusiasm among the Russian 
troops. 

The governor, General Ogareff, received the visitors 
surrounded by a numerous staff of officers ; and, after wel¬ 
coming them to the hospitalities of Nijny-Xovgorod, in¬ 
vited the party to visit the porch of his residence, where, 
he remarked, he would show them the Russian Mississippi 
and Missouri. The gentlemen followed him to the broad 
stone platform in front of the palace, whence a view was 
had of the whole surrounding country for thirty or forty 
miles. In the distance was the vast alluvial plain, across 
which the Volga, like a ribbon, stretched away to the 
horizon amid cultivated fields and occasional woods, 
while, in the foreground below, spread over the'triangle 
where the Oka and the Volga meet, was the Fair, with its 
endless rows of shops, its streets thronged with the people 
of two continents, and bordered with a forest of masts and 
of steamboat-chimneys. The vessels and barges lay so 
thickly on the river that the water was nearly hidden, and 
the long bridge of boats appeared almost a superfluity. 
There were barges that had come down the Kama from 
Siberia and the Hral, and steamers up from Astrakhan and 
the Caspian Sea ; boats that had floated with the current 



A 


©IF MTTSSKiL 






















THE GREAT FAIR. 


287 


of the Kliasma from Moscow, or through Lake Onega 
and the Sclieksna from St. Petersburg; and queer-look- 
ing Asiatic craft, with colors and ornaments strange to 
Western eyes. Most of them were flying their flags, 
some the American as well as the Eussian, for the arrival 
of the Grand-dukes had made it a gala-day. 

Nijny-Eovgorod lies on the right bank of the Volga, at 
its junction with the Oka. It is the eastern terminus of 
the European railway system, which makes there a con¬ 
nection with the vast net-work of rivers that intersect all 
parts of the Eussian Empire. From its unique position, 
being, as it were, the frontier post of Europe and of Asia, 
it gathers yearly a greater variety of produce and of cus¬ 
tomers than any other town in the world. In its bazaars 
the goods of London, Paris, and Berlin, are exposed be¬ 
side the products of all the Asiatic countries, and in its 
streets may be seen and heard all complexions, costumes, 
and languages. 

The great annual Fair, which attracts this motley 
throng of merchants, begins on the 1st of July and lasts 
two months. During its continuance, trade is carried on 
to the amount usually of more than a hundred million 
rubles. All the traffic is by direct purchase and sale, 
the commodity bargained for being delivered on the 
ground. This necessitates the collection of immense 
quantities of goods, which, when the shops are filled, are 
stacked in piles in the open air, and covered with mats to 
protect them from the rain. The advance of the Eussian 
railways into Asia will probably soon affect seriously this 
great mart of exchange, which has been the meeting-place 


2S8 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


of the merchants of Europe and of Asia for more than five 
hundred years. 

The bazaar and the surrounding shops were erected in 
1824, -when the Fair was removed from its old position at 
Makarief, seventy-two miles below, to its present site. 
The governor’s house occupies the centre of the Fair, 
which is laid out in squares separated by broad avenues. 
The governor lives here only during the Fair, his perma¬ 
nent residence being in the upper town. From the rear 
a wide boulevard, lined on each side by shops, with rows 
of trees in front, leads to a cathedral. The lower story of 
the official mansion is devoted to stalls for the sale of 
manufactured goods and fancy articles. There is also a 
restaurant there. The bazaar, containing more than three 
thousand stalls, is surrounded by a canal, as a protection 
against fire. The system of drainage is very perfect. 
The sewers, built of cut stone, are arranged in regular 
streets, are lofty and well ventilated, and are entered by 
stairways through towers placed at intervals along the 
upper avenues, each of which is in charge of a Cossack. 
These sewers are flushed several times a day with water 
raised from the river by pumps. 

The Fair has long since overflowed the bazaar, and 
extends now to the banks of the Yolga and the Oka, along 
which the lines of wharves stretch for ten miles. It has 
trespassed even upon the river itself. On a sand-bank 
in the middle of the Oka is a row of sheds, painted blue, 
more than a mile in length, where is stored in immense 
piles the iron brought from the Siberian mines. This is 
the most important article of traffic, and vessels are con- 


THE GREAT FAIR. 


289 


tinually loading and unloading at these storehouses. 
The iron is iu all forms, from bars and sheets, to every 
variety of household utensil. 

Along the Volga are warehouses of cotton, tea, 
mill-stones, hides, dried fish, rags, and other bulky mer¬ 
chandise. All day long the contents of these vast 
stores are changing and being shipped from the wharves 
on vessels bound for all parts of the empire and the 
East. 

Four hundred steamers, to say nothing of the count¬ 
less barges, scows, and sailing-craft, ply on the Volga, 
and thence through its vast system of tributaries, that 
covers Russia like a net-work from the regions of pines 
and snows to the shores of the Caspian. Steam naviga¬ 
tion on the Volga begins at Tver, where the railway from 
St. Petersburg to Moscow crosses it. Tver is from two 
and a half to three days’ journey above Nijny-Novgorod. 
From the latter place to Astrakhan, at the mouth of the 
Volga, is about six days by steam. The whole navigable 
length of the Volga is about two thousand miles. The 
Oka is navigable for nearly a thousand miles. The trade 
of all the countries bordering on the Caspian comes up 
the Volga; but the most important of all the products 
sold at the Fair come down the Kama, another affluent of 
the Volga, joining it fifty miles below Kazan. This river 
drains the markets of Siberia, of the Ural, and of Cen¬ 
tral Asia. All the iron and the tea reaches Nijny-Kovgo- 
rod through this channel. 

Tea was formerly the most important article of mer¬ 
chandise at the Fair,“the annual sales amounting to over 
19 


290 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


fifteen million pounds, but the cheaper sea-carriage via 
Canton has impaired this trade of late years. The tea 
sold at Nijny-RTovgorod is brought from Kiakhta, on the 
borders of Siberia and China, on camels and sledges across 
the country to Perm, on the Kama, where it is shipped on 
steamboats for the Volga. Kiakhta, in the government of 
Irkutsk, is the great emporium of trade between Russia 
and China. Annual fairs are held there, where caravans 
from both countries meet to barter their respective goods, 
Russian furs, broadcloths, linen and woollen goods, iron¬ 
ware, etc., being exchanged for teas, rhubarb, Chinese silks, 
and other products and manufactures of the Celestial king¬ 
dom, the greater part of which goes directly to Kijny- 
Rovgorod. Other smaller fairs are held along the bor¬ 
ders of Siberia and China, but they are chiefly of local 
importance, the greater part of the Western trade being 
carried on through Kiakhta. 

All varieties of teas, from the delicate yellow tea to 
the coarse tea pressed into bricks, enter Russia through 
this channel. The yellow tea, which sells at Rijny-Rov- 
gorod generally as high as twenty dollars the pound, is the 
choicest of the crop, the first picking. The leaf is of an 
amber yellow, and the infusion almost colorless. It is 
drunk without either milk or sugar, has an exquisite odor 
and flavor, and is very exhilarating in its effects. It is 
served at the tables of the wealthy in small cups, after 
dessert, the same as coffee. It comes from China in small 
chests, each containing about four and a quarter pounds, 
covered with raw-hide. A number of these, usually 
about eight, are packed together in a bullock’s skin, 


THE GREAT FAIR. 


291 


fastened with raw-hide, and thus transported to their des¬ 
tination on camels, sledges, boats, etc. 

The brick tea is the refuse of the crop, pressed into 
solid cakes. It is used by the peasantry, and notably by 
the Calmucks and Tartars of the steppes, who boil it 
with mare’s-milk, and sometimes make a kind of soup of 
it by mixing with it mutton-fat and parched millet. 
Great quantities of black and green teas, for general con¬ 
sumption, are also sold at the Fair. 

The Americans, in company with a number of the 
officials, visited all parts of the Fair. The heat was op¬ 
pressive, and the dust blew in clouds, but the streets were 
thronged with people. The most of the peasants were 
dressed in holiday costume in honor of the Grand-dukes, 
presenting a very picturesque appearance. Whenever the 
carriages stopped, they were surrounded at once by a 
curious crowd of gazers, so that progress was at times 
exceedingly difficult. Among the most interesting of the 
shops are those wffiere the silver-gilt ware of Tula is ex¬ 
posed for sale. It is exquisitely wrought in the pretty 
forms of the “ Renaissance.” The fur-shops, too, are at¬ 
tractive, and contain treasures seldom seen elsewhere. 
After a long drive through the different rows, the party 
partook of a lunch at the restaurant of Nikita Egoroff, 
and returned to their quarters in time to rest before the 
festivities of the evening. 

At seven o’clock Mr. Fox and party attended a grand 
dinner, given in his honor by the merchants in the great 
building in the middle of the Fair. The dining-hall was 
ornamented with evergreens, flowers, Russian and Ameri- 


292 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


can flags, and with portraits of the Emperor, and of 
Washington, Lincoln, and Johnson. A gallery in the 
room was filled with ladies. 

About one hundred and fifty sat down at the tables, 
among whom were representatives of all the different 
nationalities, Russians, Persians, Tartars, Armenians, and 
merchants from the Caucasus and from Siberia. Mr. 
Schipoff, the president of the Fair, presided, and gave the 
first toast. He said : 

“ I thank our dear American visitors for the kind re¬ 
ception their country gave our Russian naval officers. 
When Russia was experiencing a dark hour, America 
showed her sympathy in unmistakable signs, and Cron- 
stadt, St. Petersburg, and Moscow, have been trying to 
return similar evidences of friendship. The friendship 
of America has transformed more than one of the old 
enemies of Russia into friends. The appearances alone 
of sympathy between Russia and America have sufficed 
to bring about such a result. Though Moscow, the first 
city of the empire and the heart of the country, had ri¬ 
valled Cronstadt and St. Petersburg, the demonstrations 
of those three cities would not have sufficed, because they 
are only cities. Here, on the contrary, is represented the 
entire Russian Empire, north, south, east, and west; and 
Siberia and Central Asia participate in the proceedings. 
If the merchants of Nijny-Hovgorod give the Americans 
a whole-hearted reception, if they understand and appre¬ 
ciate the fact that Russia and America are friends, it 
means more than a superficial observer at the dinner to¬ 
night would imagine. These merchants are gathered in 


THE MERCHANTS’ DINNER. 


293 


Xijny-lSTovgorod for only a few weeks, and cannot make the 
same splendid outward show in proportion to the degree 
of their friendship, hut you may be assured of the warmth 
and unanimity of their feelings. In a few days the Fair 
will close, and they will carry home with them, to every 
corner of Russia and Asia where Russian trade and poli¬ 
tics have sway, the enthusiasm which this happy occasion 
has called forth, and tell the story of how Russians and 
Americans met and recognized each other as the best of 
friends. America, differing from European countries, 
is a friend which every Russian feels will continue to 
be such. It is a long time since the two countries first 
showed a mutual attachment; and this fact and their 
several missions prove to me that their friendship will be 
enduring. When the merchants return to their homes, the 
simple steadfast people, who cannot read nor write, will 
learn that Russia possesses a friend across the ocean, on 
the other side of the world, and the story will become a 
tradition handed down from father to son. All the peo¬ 
ple of Russia will second the toast—To the prosperity of 
the people and to the health of the President of the "Uni¬ 
ted States.” 

Mr. Schipoff was interrupted in the course of his 
speech by frequent and loud applause. The band played 
our national air at the conclusion. 

Mr. Fox, then directing attention to the portrait of the 
Emperor, said : 

“ To that Sovereign through whom the Divine pur¬ 
pose reaches the people of Russia, his Imperial Majesty 
Alexander II.” 


294 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


All the company arose and drank the toast, the en¬ 
thusiasm culminating in loud cheers, the band joining in 
“ God save the Emperor! ” 

A toast given by Captain Murray, “ To the health of 
the Empress and of the Imperial Family, and of her who 
will soon become a member of that august family,” was 
received with similar applause. He referred to the Prin¬ 
cess Dagmar of Denmark, the betrothed of the Cezare- 
vitch, who was married to him with imposing ceremonies 
at St. Petersburg, the 9th of November following. 

The next toast was in honor of the u envoy of Con¬ 
gress, the Honorable G. Y. Fox,” which was greeted with 
the same hearty enthusiasm. 

Mr. Fox replied : “ It has been explained to me .that 
the mayor refers to the warm reception tendered us in 
the various cities of Russia, and also at this place, where so 
many merchants are congregated. It is true that we have 
been welcomed at Cronstadt, at St. Petersburg, and at 
Moscow, as he describes; and the same generous hospi¬ 
tality meets us here. Like a bee wandering among dow¬ 
ers, we have tasted everywhere the delights of a Russian 
welcome, and shall return to our country laden with the 
sweets which have been gathered from the hearts of the 
Russian people. But the search of the bee in the corolla 
of the beautiful dowers is not for its own gratidcation ; it 
extracts therefrom the honey which becomes food and re¬ 
freshment for man. Its humble course is directed by an 
indnite wisdom, and here, near the centre of Russian life, 
where merchants and representatives from the remotest 
provinces and tribes meet for the interchange of mate- 


THE MERCHANTS’ DINNER. 


295 


rial interests, have we not a right to believe that our foot¬ 
steps hither are the result of the same guidance ? Then 
let us be thankful for the influences which are drawing 

o 

still closer the traditional bond which exists between the 
two empires, rivals only in the development of great ideas, 
such as'your beloved sovereign continues to promulgate. 
(Cheers.) In this eventful year, on this historic ground, 
shall we not form a £ Holy Alliance,’ not on parchment as 
a menace, but a moral alliance that in the interest of 
peace will merit God’s blessing, and stand as an example 
to other nations ?—*1 drink to the Governor, the Mayor, 
and the Merchants.” (Great cheering.) 

Mr. Ogareff responded briefly, making some very com¬ 
plimentary allusions to Mr. Fox, which elicited much ap¬ 
plause from the merchants. 

Mr. Osipoff followed. He thanked the Americans for 
the degree of consideration which had influenced them 
to send the congratulatory mission on the happy escape 
of the Emperor, and begged to remind them that not 
only the cities where they had been, but every town 
in Russia, thanked them. He proposed a toast to the 
prosperity of the American and Russian merchant marine 
and navies, and, as the representative of the American 
Navy, to Captain Murray. He hoped to see none but 
Russian and American ships engaged in carrying the 
products which are exchanged between the two countries. 

Captain Murray responded as follows: 

“ Ho eloquence can express the sympathy with which 
we have been welcomed in Russia. What mean these 
star-spangled flags suspended here? Why are our ears 


296 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


saluted by the music of the cheers which fill the air ? 
Why does the eye light up with pleasure, the hand press 
ours with warmth ? Why this generous hospitality, these 
complimentary toasts and speeches to us, humble Ameri¬ 
cans % We are undecorated [applause] and simply clad. 
We are American citizens, without pretension.” Cap¬ 
tain Murray then answered his own questions by refer¬ 
ring to the love of country which characterized the two 
nations, and mentioning some of the things in which 
they harmonize. He spoke of the mutual interests of the 
two nations in the construction of the Russo-American 
telegraph, which should bind the two hemispheres to¬ 
gether, as a first step toward realizing the pleasing picture 
of the future, when Russian and American commerce 
should whiten the dividing ocean, and commercial cities 
should dot its shores. 

The health of Commander Beaumont was then given 
by Mr. Maschnin. Mr. Beaumont replied briefly, and 
proposed a toast to the Russian Havy. 

Mr. Ter Akapoff, an Armenian merchant, then made 
a speech in his native language. 

“ The Americans,” he said, “ had scarcely set foot on 
the soil of Russia, and made known their mission, when 
enthusiastic acclamations of welcome were raised in all 
parts of the empire. They meet with a like reception 
here at the Fair, where many different nationalities are 
met like one family, under the wise direction of a reform¬ 
ing sovereign, enjoying peace and happiness. 

“ Permit me to bid you welcome, and to say to you, 
in the name of all the Armenians, that your mission of 


THE MERCHANTS’ DINNER. 


297 


friendship is received with enthusiasm in all the distant 
borders of Russia, and by every people that enjoys the be¬ 
nignant sway of our great sovereign, Alexander II.” 

Mr. Fox replied: 

“ As soon as we had crossed the Russian frontier, we 
were struck by the deep and sincere devotion of the peo¬ 
ple for their sovereign. It seemed to us that, in propor¬ 
tion as we advanced into the interior of the empire, this 
feeling became stronger and stronger. But now we learn 
from this citizen, newly arrived from the extreme East, 
that there also it is equally strong. Deeply impressed 
by this discovery, the source of your unity, power, and 
progress, I desire to propose again the health of him who 
has inspired such feelings — his Imperial Majesty, the 
Emperor.” 

A second time the national hymn of Russia was 
drowned in the tumultuous applause of the company. 

Other toasts were given by Messrs. EgorofF, Yereten- 
ickoff, and Schipoff. The latter spoke of Lincoln, and 
praised the financial ability of Mr. Chase. He compared 
the status of the Russian paper currency with the Ameri¬ 
can, greatly to the advantage of the latter. The reason 
why Russian paper-money was below par was not because 
there was too much of it, and the cause of the rising of 
American currency to nearly what it should be was owing 
to the ability of our secretary’s management. He drank 
to the memory of Lincoln, and to the health of Mr. Chase. 

After the dinner a band of gypsies, men and women, 
clad in their picturesque costumes, entertained the com¬ 
pany with their songs and dances. 


298 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


These Bohemians, as they are called, although none 
who see them can doubt their Indian origin, are met with 
in all the chief cities and towns of Russia. Their com¬ 
plexions are tawny, their hair black, and their eyes dark 
and piercing. -The men have a Jewish cast of counte¬ 
nance, like the Karaim Jews of the Crimea, but it is not 
so observable among the women. Many of the girls are 
very beautiful, both in face and figure, but the older 
women do not exhibit the delicacy of outline which char¬ 
acterizes them in youth. They dress gaudily in bright 
colors, and wear many ornaments. 

Their music is very fascinating, having about it a 
strange and savage harmony almost impossible to de¬ 
scribe. Sometimes their songs, which are accompanied 
usually by the guitar, are low, sweet, and plaintive; 
sometimes loud and boisterous. Now we have a romance 
of passionate love, sung by a beautiful girl whose flashing 
eyes wander coquettishly among her audience; now a 
wild chorus of cries bursts from the whole band, like a 
harsh, sardonic laugh; and now a song, measured in 
rhythm and defiant in its tones as the war-cry of a proud 
and unconquerable race, is sung by a man with an energy 
and a spirit that insensibly affect all who hear him. The 
solo-songs are generally followed by choruses in which 
the whole band join, making a most striking contrast. 
Men and women spring of a sudden into action, with 
loud cries and halloos, clapping their hands and snapping 
their fingers, pirouetting and dancing and setting the 
whole body in a quivering motion, like the dancing-girls 
of the East, all the while keeping perfect time and follow- 


THE MERCHANTS’ DINNER. 


299 


ing the air sung by their leader with endless variations. 
To look upon these strange figures clad in their bright- 
colored costumes, and decked with ornaments, to see 
their faces marked unalterably with the evidences of 
their Asiatic origin, their hashing eyes and passionate 
glances, the graceful abandon of their movements, one 
seems to be transported to the fervid regions of the East, 
of which poets sing, where soft airs loaded with perfumes 
benumb the senses and invite to sweet repose. 

It is worthy of mention that the Russian gypsies, 
although possessing the same general characteristics of 
the wandering Bohemians seen in other countries, are 
more circumspect in their behavior, and are, as a rule, 
virtuous. This is remarkable, considering the free life 
they lead, and the temptations by which they are sur¬ 
rounded. Many of them have inspired serious passions 
in the breasts of Russia’s noblest scions, and occasionally 
one has become the wife of some man of high rank. But, 
despite the seductions of the gay world, they seldom sep¬ 
arate themselves entirely from their people, preferring 
the free and independent life to which they have been 
accustomed from their youth, to wealth and luxury in 
what is to them a prison. 

At the conclusion of the gypsy songs and dances, Mr. 
Fox was invited into another room, and toasted again 
before a portrait in oil of himself, which hung upon the 
wall. Punch was then lighted and the company engaged 
in general conversation until eleven o’clock, when the 
very agreeeble entertainment came to a close. 


CHAPTER XXI. 


THE VOLGA STEAMERS—A PEASANT WELCOME—DEPARTURE 
FROM NIJNY—NOVGOROD—SHIP-BUILDING ON THE VOLGA 

-KOSTROMA—THE CZAR MICHAEL—SUSANIN—A LADY’S 

WELCOME. 

UG JJST 2>lst (19 th ).—In the morning, which was 
pleasant, the party again visited the Fair, and after¬ 
ward, accompanied by Mr. Moschnin, went on board of a 
number of the Yolga steamers, lying at the quay. 
Almost all of them are manned by Tartars, who make 
good sailors. They work cheerfully, lightening their 
labors generally with their wild songs, and appear to be 
as happy as children at play; but they have to be watched 
closely, else they do not accomplish much. 

The steamboats are small and sharp, and draw more 
water than is necessary. Some of them were built in 
England and transported hither in pieces, to be put to¬ 
gether in the ship-yards here. Some, however, are piloted 
through the maze of lakes, canals, and streams, that con¬ 
nect the Yolga with the Gulf of Finland. Boats built on 
the American system, like those of the Mississippi, would 
be more serviceable, and would be preferable on many 
accounts. 


A PEASANT WELCOME. 


301 


The Cathedral of the Transfiguration was visited 
next, in the upper town. It was founded in the year 
1221. Near it is shown the place where the patriot Mi¬ 
nin stood when he harangued the people in 1612, and in¬ 
cited them to rise against the Poles. 

At two in the afternoon, a deputation of peasants 
from the village of Bezvodna’ia, about twenty miles from 
Nijny-Novgorod, called on Mr. Fox, and presented him 
with specimens of their manufactures in iron and brass, 
consisting of sieves, hooks and eyes, chains, and fine net¬ 
ting. These articles, which are all made by hand, are 
the -work of the women of this village, who are noted in 
the surrounding country for their beauty. They made a 
very pretty appearance in their picturesque costumes— 
pelisses of red silk and high head-dresses profusely orna¬ 
mented. 

Mr. Fox thanked them for their kindness in coming 
so far to see him, and offered them, in remembrance, 
some of his card-photographs, with which they appeared 
greatly pleased. More than twenty thousand of these 
card-photographs of Mr. Fox were sold during the stay 
of the mission in Nijny-Novgorod. 

At five o’clock the Americans and their Russian com¬ 
panions dined at the LebedefF Hotel with the president 
of the Fair and a few prominent merchants. Much good 
feeling was manifested, and toasts were given to Mr. Fox, 
to Mr. Sehipoff, and to Admiral Lessovsky. In reply, the 
last-named gentleman spoke of the reception he had met 
with in America, and of the friendly relations existing 
between the two countries. He referred also to the com- 


302 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


mercial ties which ought to bind Russia and America, 
and said that the Imperial Ravy would always protect 
and foster the merchant service. Mr. Osipoff said that 
it was desirable that Russian commerce should be freed 
from the great expense of freight and commission, and 
wished that direct relations might be opened with the 
Americans. 

After dinner, the party walked to the upper town to 
see the illumination in honor of the grand-dukes, which 
took place every night during their presence in the city. 
All the houses and shipping were lit with lamps and lan¬ 
terns, as on the night of the arrival of the Americans, 
and in many places were seen transparencies showing the 
initials of the imperial visitors, surmounted with the 
crown. The streets were crowded to such an extent that 
the way was sometimes blocked with carriages and foot- 
passengers, so as to be almost impassable. 

The following is the translation of a dispatch sent on 
this day by Prince Gortcliakoff, Vice-Chancellor of the 
Empire, to Mr. de Stoeckl, the minister of Russia at 
Washington: 

Peterhof, Avgust 31 (19), 1866. 

Sm : The mission intrusted by the Congress of the 
United States of America to Mr. Fox, Under Secretary 
of State, has met with a reception by the Imperial Court, 
the public, and I may say the Russian nation, which you 
have already been able to appreciate from the notices in 
the public journals. 

I need not dwell on these manifestations of the mutual 


PRINCE GORTCIIAKOFF’S DISPATCH. 


303 


sympathy between the two countries. It reveals itself in 
full light. It is one of the most interesting facts of our 
time—a consolatory fact in the face of the recent com¬ 
plications which have just awakened in old Europe sen¬ 
timents of hate, of ambition, of rivalry, bloody struggles, 
appeals to force, so little in harmony with the progress 
of humanity ; a fact which sows between two great peo¬ 
ples, almost between two continents, the seeds of mutual 
good-will and friendship, which will bear fruit, become 
traditional, and inaugurate between them relations found¬ 
ed on a real spirit of Christian civilization. 

In a letter which our august master addresses to the 
President of the United States, and which I request you 
to transmit to its destination, his Imperial Majesty begs 
Mr. Johnson to convey to Congress the assurance of the 
sentiments which he has already expressed to Mr. Fox. 

I annex hereto a copy of the letter for your informa¬ 
tion. 

You will also, sir, express yourself to the same effect 
both to the President and to the members of the Federal 
Government, as well as to other influential personages. 

In face of a movement of national sympathy so spon¬ 
taneous on both sides, the task of the Government is 
simply to fall in with the current, to promote it, and to 
direct it in actual practice to the good of both countries. 

In this aim we count upon the cooperation of the 
Federal Government, as it may count upon ours. 

The Emperor has been most favorably impressed by 
Mr. Fox. The tact with which he has acquitted himself 
of his mission has been highly appreciated in our official 


304 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


circles, as well as by the public of all classes with which 
he has come in contact, and he has been ably seconded by 
the distinguished personnel who accompanied him. It 
would have been difficult to commit to better hands the 
measure of cordial courtesy prescribed by Congress. 

You are directed to bear witness to this sentiment. 
Receive, etc., etc. 

(Signed) Gortchakoff. 

Me. de Stoeokx, etc., etc., etc. 


THE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA 

TO 

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Peterhof, August 17, 1866. 

I have received, by the hands of Mr. Fox, the resolu¬ 
tion of the Congress of the United States of America on 
the occasion of the Providential favor of which I have 
been the object. 

This mark of sympathy has touched me deeply. It is 
not merely personal to me—it is a new attestation of the 
sentiments which unite the American nation to Russia. 

The two peoples find in their past no recollections of 
old grievances, but, on the contrary, memorials only of 
amicable treatment. On all occasions they add new 
proofs of mutual good-will. These cordial relations, 
which are as advantageous to their reciprocal interests as 
to those of civilization and humanity, conform to the 
views of Divine Providence, whose final purpose is peace 
and concord among nations. 

It is with a lively satisfaction that I see these bonds 


THE EMPEROR TO THE PRESIDENT. 


305 


continually strengthening. I have communicated my 
sentiments to Mr. Fox. I pray you to express them to 
Congress and to the American people, of which that body 
is the organ. Tell them how much I, and with me all 
Russia, appreciate the testimonials of friendship which 
they have given me, and how heartily I shall congratulate 
myself on seeing the American nation growing in power 
and prosperity by the union and continued practice of the 
civic virtues which distinguish it. 

Accept, at the same time, the assurance of the high 
consideration with which I am 

Your good friend, 

(Signed) Alexander. 

September 1st (August 20 tK ).—On Saturday morning, 
at ten o’clock, Mr. Fox and the accompanying gentlemen 
visited the foundery and machine-shops of Mr. Koltchin, 
one of the largest establishments of the kind on the 
Yolga. 

At eleven o’clock the party embarked on the steamer 
Sarapoulets, belonging to Mr. Koltchin, and started up 
the Yolga for Kostroma. Besides Mr. Koltchin, they 
were accompanied by the mayor and other officials, and 
by a large deputation of merchants. A band on board 
played our national air as the steamer left the wharf, and 
the people on shore responded with loud hurrahs. 

After the steeples and the forest of masts of Nijny- 

Novgorod had disappeared from sight, the company were 

invited to sit down to a breakfast laid in the cabin. The 

occasion was enlivened by the presence of a band of gyp- 
20 


306 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


sies, mostly women, about two dozen in number, wbc 
sang their wild songs to the accompaniment of guitars. 
Speeches and toasts alternated with the music, and the 
time passed merrily away, until a point about twenty 
miles above the city was reached, when the Sarapoulets 
drew up in mid-river, alongside the Depecha (Dispatch), 
a smaller steamboat, drawing only three feet of water, 
and transferred the Americans to her. Before the separa¬ 
tion parting toasts were drunk, each man draining his 
glass and then throwing it overboard, in accordance with 
the Russian custom. Hand-shakings and mutual regrets 
followed, the gypsies sang a touching farewell song, and 
the steamers, each flying the American flag, separated 
with “ Hail Columbia ” by the band, and loud hurrahs. 
The Sarapoulets returned to 1STijny-Novgorod, and the 
Depecha took her course up the Volga. 

The river at this point is nearly two-thirds of a mile 
in width, with low banks like the Mississippi. The 
steeples and gilded domes of churches are seen every¬ 
where. Indeed, churches appear to be a Russian spe¬ 
cialty, and are built in commemoration of almost every 
thing. There are sixty in Nijny-Novgorod alone, and 
every town is as well supplied in proportion to popula¬ 
tion. 

A large business is done along the Volga in ship¬ 
building. Nearly all the steamers are now Russian-built. 
The most of them are tugboats, used for towing barges, 
and they are not very highly finished ; but the quality 
of the Russian iron is good, and they are put together 
strongly, so that they make very serviceable craft. The 


ON THE VOLGA. 


307 


immense trade of the river and its affluents, increasing 
every year, makes a continual demand for more boats, 
and all the ship-yards are full of work. 

At Katunki, a town above Nijny-Novgorod, are exten¬ 
sive tanneries. As many as fifty thousand cat-skins are 
dressed here annually. A great deal of flax is spun in 
the surrounding country, and great quantities of linen 
are manufactured in Kineshma and other towns beyond. 
Near Kostroma is a Tartar village, founded in the six¬ 
teenth century, whose inhabitants still retain their na¬ 
tional looks and manners. 

September 2 d {August 21 st ).—Sunday opened with 
fine weather. At about ten and a half o’clock the cupo¬ 
las of the Cathedral of the Assumption, in Kostroma, 
were descried across a bend in the river, and soon after 
the city came into sight. The view of Kostroma from 
the water is highly picturesque. All Russian cities look 
larger than they are, being the reverse of compactly 
built; and, having a profusion of churches, whose cupo¬ 
las and steeples rise in every direction, they present an 
imposing appearance from a distance. 

At eleven o’clock the Depecha reached the pier, which 
was decorated with flags and covered with carpets. At 
the landing-place stood Lieutenant-General Rudzevitch, 
Governor of Kostroma, in full uniform, who came on 
board'the steamer and welcomed Mr. Fox to the hospitali¬ 
ties of the city. The boat had not been expected before 
two o’clock, and the customary crowd was absent; but 
the news of the arrival spread like wildfire, and in a few 


308 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


minutes all the avenues leading to the river were filled 
with people hurrying to the pier. 

The party landed at once, in company with the gov¬ 
ernor, and proceeded in carriages to make the usual offi¬ 
cial calls. The governor’s residence was first visited, and 
afterward those of the marshal of the nobility of the 
province, Mr. Kartzoff, and of the mayor of the city, Mr. 
Akatoff. After these ceremonial calls, the gentlemen 
returned to the steamer, where lunch was prepared under 
an awning on the deck. They had scarcely arrived when 
the city dignitaries came to return the visits, and were 
invited to partake of travellers’ fare. 

The landing was now black with people. Some barges 
near by were crowded also, and many row-boats, filled 
with men and women, covered the river around the 
steamer. Whenever an American was seen enthusiastic 
cheers went up, which were echoed and reechoed by the 
thousands behind them. One man standing upon a barge 
attracted Mr. Fox’s attention by his loud shouting, and by 
the distinctness with which he pronounced his name. On 
sending for him to come on board he proved to be a 
painter, Ivan Ratshkoff by name, who had formerly been 
a serf. Mr. Fox wrote his name on the back of one of 
his card-photographs and gave it to him. The worthy 
man was so moved at this simple gift that tears came into 
his eyes. He immediately went ashore, and returning 
after a time brought Mr. Fox a small picture of St. Nich¬ 
olas, painted by himself, on the back of which, at our 
envoy’s request, he inscribed his name. This little epi¬ 
sode aroused the people to fresh enthusiasm. 


KOSTROMA. 


309 


After the lunch, the party, under the guidance of Mr. 
Kartzoff, rode out to view the city and the many objects 
of interest in it. 

Kostroma is situated on the left bank of the Yolga, 
at its junction with the Kostroma Kiver, and has a popu¬ 
lation of twenty thousand. It dates from the twelfth 
century, having been founded about 1150, by George, the 
son of Yladimir Monomachus. It suffered various vicis¬ 
situdes in the early centuries, from plague and famine, 
Tartars and Poles; but its chief historical interest lies 
in the fact that it was the ancient home of the Romanoff 
family, and that near it occurred the incident, in the life 
of the first sovereign of that illustrious race, on which 
Glinka founded the plot of his well-known opera of “ Life 
for the Czar.” 

The election of Wladislas, the son of Sigismund, King 
of Poland, to the Russian throne, in 1610, aroused an in¬ 
tense national feeling. Minin, a citizen of Nijny-Novgo- 
rod, of whom we have already spoken, called his country¬ 
men to arms, and gave the command to the Boyar 
Pojarsky. Siege was laid to Moscow, the city taken, and 
Wladislas driven from the country. Pojarsky, a vigorous 
statesman, succeeded in establishing some degree of order 
in the distracted country ; after which he sought out the 
real heir to the throne, Michael Fedorovitch Romanoff, 
a youth of sixteen, and invited him to accept the crown. 
The prince, who was the son of the Metropolitan of Ros- 
tof, had been educated in a monastery, and was loth to 
leave his studies for the more important duties to which 
he was summoned; but the nobles and the military lead- 


310 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


ers, who had ratified Pojarsky’s choice, and elected him 
Czar, at last persuaded him to accept the throne, and he 
left the monastery of Ipatieff, where he had taken refuge, 
and took up his abode near Kostroma. 

The Poles, still intent upon seizing the country, de¬ 
termined to murder the young Czar, as the easiest way of 
ridding themselves of his accession, and secretly dispatched 
a party of men to Kostroma to accomplish their purpose. 
On reaching the neighborhood of the city, they separated 
into small bands, to avoid suspicion, and planned to meet 
at the Czar’s house, on the Pomanoff estate. One of these 
bands fell in with a peasant of the neighboring village of 
Domnino, named Ivan Susanin, and inquired the way to 
Prince Michael’s house. They told him they had been 
sent to the Czar on important business, and would reward 
him liberally for acting as their guide. Susanin detected 
their Polish accent, and suspected foul play. They were 
then but a short distance from the estate, but he told 
them it was a long way off, and, as a terrible snow-storm 
was then drifting, persuaded them to go to his cottage for 
food and rest. He gave them refreshment and strong 
drink, meantime sending a trusty messenger to the Czar, 
to warn him of the impending danger. 

The Poles slept for several hours. A little after mid¬ 
night, guided by Susanin, they started in the blinding 
storm to accomplish their mission. The faithful peasant 
conducted them by by-paths into the thickest depths of 
the forest, and, after thoroughly exhausting them by the 
difficulties of the way, declared that he had missed the 
road. As day dawned they lost patience, and accused 


SUSANIN. 


311 


him of treachery. Susanin, feeling that the Czar was 
then safe, and knowing that the Poles could not find their 
way out of the wood, boldly avowed that he had pur¬ 
posely led them astray. Their rage was unbounded, and 
they literally chopped him into pieces with their swords. 
His last words were : 

“ I would rather die than be a traitor, and God will 
receive my soul.” 

Most of the party died in the forest, of cold, hunger, 
and fatigue, and the few that crawled out alive narrated 
the story of Susanin’s heroism. The Czar Michael richly 
rewarded his family, and gave a large tract of land to his 
daughter and her husband (lie had no son), and tlieir heirs 
forever. Great privileges and immunities were bestowed 
also on his descendants, who now number over four hun¬ 
dred persons ; but they have lately been forfeited. 

In the reign of the Emperor Nicholas, a splendid mon¬ 
ument was erected in the square at Kostroma in memory 
of Susanin and his noble act of self-sacrifice. This was 
the first object visited by the Americans. A granite col¬ 
umn, rising from a massive pedestal of the same stone, is 
surmounted by a bust of the Czar Michael, crowned and 
clad in imperial robes. Beneath the bust is the double¬ 
headed eagle of Russia, and lower down, surrounded by a 
wreath, are the arms of Kostroma. At the base of the 
column kneels Susanin, and on the pedestal is a bass-relief 
representing his noble sacrifice of his own life to save his 
sovereign’s. The monument is a fine work of art, worthy 
of the subject which it commemorates. 

The party went next to the Monastery of Ipatieff, on 


312 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


the banks of the Kostroma, without the city. It dates 
from the fourteenth century, and contains many interest¬ 
ing relics of antiquity. The young Prince Michael took 
refuge within its walls when the crown was offered to him 
in 1613. His rooms are still preserved, furnished as they 
were when he occupied them. The Americans were 
shown through the church, the vestry, the library, and 
other parts of the monastery, so celebrated in Russian his¬ 
tory, and were requested to write their names on a special 
page of the visitors’-book as a memorial of their call. 

The ancient house of the Romanoffs, where the family 

lived before its elevation to imperial dignity, is also still 

to be seen near Kostroma. It is remarkable for its thick 

stone walls, small rooms, and narrow doors, and looks as 

if built to stand a siege. 

© 

The Cathedral of the Assumption is one of the most 
ancient specimens of ecclesiastical architecture in Russia, 
having been founded in the year 1239, in commemoration 
of the miraculous appearance of the Holy Virgin to Prince 
Vassily. It is remarkably well preserved, having under¬ 
gone but few alterations in the past six centuries. 

The extensive steam machine works of Mr. Schipoff, 
then recently established, were inspected next, after which 
Mr. Fox went, in company with the governor, to call on 
Madame Linachoff, a young married lady, who had vis¬ 
ited the steamer and left a bouquet of flowers, tied with a 
silk band of stars and stripes, and the following note, 
written in English, addressed to the American Envoy : 

Permit me, sir, to greet your arrival, and, in offering 
this nosegay, may you remember that you have met at 


A LADY’S WELCOME. 


313 


Kostroma a person who, with her family, fully appreciates 
the sympathy your nation has shown to Russia. Long 
live America and her union with Russia ! 

“ Proprietor in Kostroma , 

“ Catherine Linachoff, horn Poltoratzky.” 

Both Madame Linachoff and her mother spoke Eng¬ 
lish, and the interview was an exceedingly pleasant one. 


CHAPTER XXII. 


AN EMBARRASSING HONOR—THE BANQUET AT KOSTROMA- 

RECEPTION BY LADIES—MR. FOX AN HONORARY CITIZEN 
OF KOSTROMA—RIBINSK. 

A T six o’clock Mr. Fox and the accompanying gentle- 
men were invited to the House of Assembly of the 
nobility, where a dinner was given in their honor by the 
city of Kostroma. 

When Mr. Fox landed from the steamer, some young 
girls presented him with flowers and offered him a wel¬ 
come in English. As he stepped up the bank a peasant 
took off his overcoat and threw it down before him. Our 
envoy leaped over it. The open pathway to the top of 
the river’s bank was immediately covered with clothes, and 
the immense throng waited in silence to see what he 
would do. Hesitating for a moment at accepting so un¬ 
usual an honor, reserved generally for a beloved member 
of the imperial family, Mr. Fox, seeing there was no way 
of avoiding it, stepped forward on the garments cast in 
his way. Tremendous cheers greeted the action, and hats 
and handkerchiefs were waved in every direction. At 


THE KOSTROMA DINNER. 


315 


the top of tlie bank the people endeavored to detach the 
horses from his carriage, and would have effected their ob¬ 
ject if the animals had not been beyond control in conse¬ 
quence of the hurrahs. 

The Assembly House of the nobility is a fine building, 
with marble halls. The front was decorated with flags, 
shields, and emblems expressive of the friendship of the 
two nations. A military band played at the entrance, 
where the managers met the guests and conducted them 
up the staircase, decorated with flowers and evergreens, to 
the great hall, where a large company was assembled. 
All classes of society were represented, including the peas¬ 
ants, among whom were a number of the relatives of 
Komissaroff. 

The dinner was served in a spacious and beautiful sa¬ 
loon, with walls of white marble. At one end was a por¬ 
trait of the Emperor, wreathed with flowers, and under it 
the bust of Komissaroff*, crowned with evergreens. Oppo¬ 
site were shields bearing the names of Washington, Lin¬ 
coln, and Johnson. The galleries of the second story 
were filled with ladies, and an orchestral band was sta¬ 
tioned in the choir. 

The opening speech was made by Mr. KartzefF, the 
marshal of the nobility. He said : 

“ The presence among us of the honorable Mr. Fox, 
the representative of the powerful North American nation, 
is not only a proof of the sympathy of the people of the 
United States, who participate in Russia’s joy at the pres¬ 
ervation of the precious life of her sovereign, but it is 
also a pledge of the continuation of the friendly alliance 


316 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


between Russia and America, which is now T as strong and 
firm as the union between countries of such a similarity 
of interests can be. 

“ Gentlemen, Russia and America, travelling in different 
paths, have attained substantially the same results. Both 
countries have insured to all their citizens, without excep¬ 
tion, the freedom of labor, founded on the rights of man. 
In Russia, the great reform which gave liberty to twenty 
millions of bondmen was effected by the nobility, who 
have aided to establish the new social order which our 
beloved sovereign has built up in so short a time, with 
the concurrence of the whole people, and without any 
disturbance of order. The sympathy of the Americans 
for this national work is most precious to us, and the 
consideration of our guests for Kostroma, in which they 
honor the personification of Russian patriotism, is equally 
appreciated. We are all grateful to the honorable Mr. 
Fox, representative of the friendly nation of North Ameri¬ 
ca, for the visit which he and his travelling companions 
have made to our province, the birthplace of the reigning 
dynasty and of two saviors of Russian sovereigns. 

“ I have the honor to congratulate the honorable Mr. 
Fox, and to propose a toast to the health of the President 
of the United States and to the prosperity of the great 
North American nation.” 

In answer to this speech, which was received with 
cheers, Mr. Fox gave the following toast: 

“ To that illustrious Romanoff, the Liberator, who has 
inherited the benediction given by a pious mother at Kos¬ 
troma to the chief of this dynasty, and to whose heart 


THE KOSTROMA DINNER. 


317 


that blessing has been transmitted, producing the divine 
fruit manifested in successful efforts for the benefit of his 
people—Alexander II., Emperor of Russia.” 

Enthusiastic applause followed this toast, the orchestra 
playing the Russian national hymn. 

Lieutenant Commander Pritchett, of the Augusta, 
gave, in the absence of Captain Murray, who was de¬ 
tained by indisposition, a toast to the health of the 
Empress and the imperial family, and Governor Rudze- 
vitch one to the Cezarevitch, both of which received the 
usual cheers and music. 

Mr. Prokhoroff, President of the provincial board of 
the government of Kostroma, then made an animated 
and eloquent speech, concluding with a toast to the pros¬ 
perity of America and her national institutions, and 
to the prosperity of Russia and her well-beloved sove¬ 
reign. 

When he had finished, the following telegram was dis¬ 
patched to Washington: 

“ Kostroma, the cradle of the House of Romanoff, in 
congratulating Mr. Fox, expresses its wishes for the hap¬ 
piness of the American people.” 

Mr. Boschniak then offered a toast to u the Congress 
of the United States and to our dear guests, the repre¬ 
sentatives of the American Uavy.” 

Mr. Fox responded: 

“ Kostroma has surrounded us on all sides with com¬ 
pliments of welcome. Outside these walls a compact 
crowd of her citizens chant the inspiring national songs 
of Russia. Inside, the melodies of the two nations are 


318 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


mingled ; and those glorious flags, consecrated by victory, 
are here joined together. In the galleries, alas! too far 
removed, the angels of Russia smile upon us. (Ap¬ 
plause.) 

“ Pilgrims from the New World, we have come hither 
desiring to connect our country with your glorious his¬ 
tory, to plant on this sacred soil the sympathies which 
our people have commissioned me to express on the occa¬ 
sion which menaced your beloved sovereign; and we pray 
that the seed thus sown may bear a perennial harvest of 
fraternal feeling between the two nations forever. I give 
a toast to the governor, to the marshal of the nobility, to 
the mayor, and to all the people of Kostroma.” 

Mr. Bosclmiak gave a toast to “Admiral Lessov- 
sky, who, during his visit to America, has bound such 
sympathetic relations between Russia and the United 
States; ” to which the admiral replied by giving the 
health of “ all the Russians who accompanied him in his 
voyage.” 

Mr. Curtin, secretary of the American legation, then 
spoke in the Russian language as follows : 

“ There are places so hallowed by glorious and sacred 
memories that our hearts, at sight of them, are involunta¬ 
rily filled with emotion. In one of those places, sacred 
to the past, we find ourselves to-day. In a time of suffer¬ 
ing and trial, when Russia, without a Czar, was harassed 
by enemies who hoped to ruin and destroy her, Kostroma 
had a youthful boyar [nobleman] worthy to be chosen the 
Czar and deliverer of Russia at the universal call of her 
people. When the life of the newly-elected chief was in 


THE KOSTROMA DINNER. 


319 


danger, in Kostroma was found a peasant who gladly laid 
down his own life for his native land. Centuries later, 
when the guilty hand of an assassin was raised against 
the descendant of Michael Romanoff, Providence, watch¬ 
ing over the destinies of Russia, prevented the accom¬ 
plishment of the crime; and by the hand of a Kostroma 
peasant was the land again saved from calamity. Such is 
the significance of Kostroma. She once gave and twice 
preserved to Russia a Czar. Therefore it is that she is 
honored, and therefore it is that we Americans are stand¬ 
ing here to-day at the cradle of the house of Romanoff, 
having come from our distant fatherland to bring you our 
greetings and to congratulate you, her inhabitants, on the 
preservation of your Emperor’s life, and on the heroism 
and virtue of your illustrious townsmen, Susanin and 
Komissaroff, the saviors of Michael Romanoff and of 
Alexander II. I beg leave to propose a toast to the pros¬ 
perity of beautiful Kostroma.” 

This speech in their own tongue so delighted the Rus¬ 
sians that Mr. Curtin had to submit to a tossing, in addi¬ 
tion to the cheers which he received. 

Mr. Curtin was followed by the peasant Finikoff, a rel¬ 
ative of Komissaroff’s and member of the provincial as¬ 
sembly. “Permit me also, honorable Mr. Fox,” he said, 
“ to congratulate you, as the representative of the peasants 
freed from serfdom by our good Emperor. You see 
yonder on the wall the likeness of one of our class who 
saved the life of our sovereign, to which act we are in¬ 
debted for your dear presence among us. Accept, in 
my person, the expression of sincere gratitude on the 


320 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


part of the peasants of Kostroma, who will always re¬ 
member your friendship and your love for our country 
and for our Emperor, the Liberator; and allow me to 
give a toast to the mutual friendship of Russians and 
Americans.” 

Toasts followed to Komissaroff-Kostromsky and to the 
Russian and the American ladies. As soon as dinner 
was over and tea had been drunk in the assembly-rooms, 
the company adjourned to a beautifully decorated and 
illuminated pavilion in the public garden, where a large 
number of ladies awaited their coming. Twelve beauti¬ 
ful young ladies, dressed in white, offered the Americans 
flowers as they entered. The daughter of the governor, 
who led them, presented to Mr. Fox a bouquet tied with 
red, white, and blue ribbons. Our envoy had the honor 
of leading the dance with the wife of General Ruclze- 
vitch, the governor. After the dancing, there were more 
toasts and speeches, music, and a rustic concert, by some 
red-smocked shepherds, on pandean pipes. 

From the ballroom Mr. Fox and some of the party 
went to visit a hemp-yarn factory, where very young 
children were at work ; and thence to the owner’s house, 
where wine and cigars were proffered, and all were asked 
to write their names in an album. 

At midnight the party bade adieu to Kostroma, and 
returned on board the Depecha. The governor and other 
officials accompanied them to the landing, where they 
were followed by crowds of people, who sang national 
songs and cheered. The streets were brilliantly illu¬ 
minated, and bonfires and blue-lights lit up the river’s 


KOSTROMA CITIZENSHIP. 


321 


I 


bank. Mucli warmth of feeling was expressed by the 
citizens at parting, and the Americans bade them good- 
by with many regrets that their visit was necessarily so 
short a one. 

After Mr. Fox’s return to the United States, he re¬ 
ceived, through the State Department, letters-patent, con¬ 
ferring on him the honorary citizenship of the city of 
Kostroma. 

The diploma is on heavy Bristol board, thirty by 
twenty-four inches in size. At the top are the arms of 
Kostroma, a green shield quartered by two intersecting 
lines of gold ; in the first quarter a silver cross, in the 
fourth a silver crescent, inverted. Beneath the shield are 
two circles, that on the left enclosing the letters “ M C ” 
(Michael Czar) and the date “ 1613,” the year of the ac¬ 
cession to the throne of Michael Fedorovitch Romanoff, 
the founder of the present dynasty; that on the right, 
“ O K K ” (Osip Komissaroff-Kostromsky) and “ 1866,” 
the year in which he preserved the life of the latest Ro¬ 
manoff’. The four corners of the diploma contain views 
in Kostroma: at the top, on the right, the principal ca¬ 
thedral and the convent where Prince Michael lived ; on 
the left, a scene in ancient Kostroma ; at the bottom are 
two views of the city from the river. At the middle of 
the left side is the monument of Susanin, and opposite 
it, on the right, is a picture of the lower cathedral (Us¬ 
pensky). The seal of the city is appended at the 
bottom. 

The inscription, which is in both Russian and Eng¬ 
lish, reads as follows: 

21 


322 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


The citizens of Kostroma, penetrated with the feelings 
of the deepest esteem for the famous American nation, 
for the sympathy expressed by it on account of the won¬ 
derful deliverance of our beloved monarch from the 
wicked attack of the murderer, and sincerely grateful 
to the American Embassy for the high honor bestowed 
upon Kostroma by their visit, resolved to immortalize 
this event, momentous for our city, by offering to the 
representative of the great nation, the Yice-Secretary of 
the Kavy of the United States, Mr. Fox, the title of 

Citizen of Note of the Town of Kostroma. 

The Minister of the Home Department has informed us, 
on the 30th of October, 1866, that our gracious sovereign 
has approved and confirmed the resolution of the City 
Council of Kostroma, in consequence of which we have 
the honor of forwarding this diploma, with the signatures 
of the City Council of Kostroma, and the seal thereof 
affixed to the act. 

To the Honorable Mr. Fox. 

September 3d (August 22 d ).—Monday opened bright 
and clear. The Volga grows narrower above Kostroma, 
and there is little to be seen, excepting a few scattering 
villages and occasional church-steeples, until Yaroslaf is 
reached at the confluence of the Kotorosl River. It is a 
place of considerable business importance, having a large 
trade in grain and iron. With a population of about 
thirty thousand, it has seventy-seven churches. It dates 
from the beginning of the eleventh century. 


RIBINSK. 


323 


At one o’clock in tlie afternoon the steamer reached 
Ribinsk, a place of eleven thousand inhabitants, at the 
junction of the Sheksna with the Yolga. A landing 
was made just above the town, and the rope-walk of Mr. 
Juravlyeflf visited. He employs nineteen hundred per¬ 
sons in rope-making, doing all his spinning by hand. He 
is also a large dealer in lumber and timber, employing a 
great many barges in his business. After visiting the 
different buildings on his place, the party dined with 
him. 

Although Ribinsk is a comparatively new town, 
dating only from the end of the last century, it is a place 
of great commercial importance. The canal-system which 
connects the waters of the Yolga with the Baltic begins 
here, and from seven to eight thousand vessels arrive at 
and depart from it yearly. Great quantities of grain and 
tallow, brought from below, are transshipped here into 
smaller vessels for St. Petersburg. 


CHAPTER XXIII. 


UGLITCH—KEMEA—• KORTCHEYA RECEPTION' AT TVER A 

SOLDIER OF BORODINO-ST. PETERSBURG BAZAAR—THE 

GREAT THEATRE—BREAKFAST AT GRAND-DUCHESS CON- 

stantine’s. 

SEPTEMBER 4 th {August 23d ).—The fine weather 
continued. The river grew still narrower, and the 
banks higher. Churches were seen in every direction. 
At Uglitch, a town of five or six thousand inhabitants, 
there are twenty-seven, some of them of much archi¬ 
tectural beauty. 

This city, which dates from the middle of the tenth 
century, was once large and populous. Dmitry, the 
younger son of Ivan the Terrible, was confined here, 
during the reign of his feeble brother Fedor; and here, 
in 1591, he met a violent death, which was attributed to 
the treachery of Boris Godunoff, the brother-in-law of 
Fedor, who hoped, by cutting off the heir, to succeed to 
the sovereignty himself. Fedor, the last of the house of 
Rurik, died in 1598, and Boris accomplished his ambi¬ 
tious designs. Dmitry’s murder was denied afterward by 
pretendfers, who assumed his name and rights, it being 


■WELCOME AT KEMRA. 


325 


claimed that another child had been substituted in his 
place. One of these was successful in his imposture, and 
was crowned Czar at Moscow in 1G05, Fedor II., the son 
and successor of Boris Godunoff, having met a fate similar 
to that of the true Dmitry. Even after the accession of 
the house of Romanoff in the person of the Czar Michael, 
in 1613, the convulsions caused by the tragedy at Uglitch 
still affected the peace of Russia, and were with difficulty 
suppressed. 

At Kaliachin the steamer stopped to wood, and the 
Americans seized the opportunity to walk through the 
village. The chief industry is starch-making. Little 
worthy of note was seen, excepting a church on the river- 
bank, with a handsome Greek tower. 

At eight o’clock in the evening, the Depecha again 
stopped for wood, at the village of Kemra. A deputa¬ 
tion of the inhabitants, with the mayor of the town at 
their head, came down to the landing, and presented the 
following address to Mr. Fox : 

WELCOME TO THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE AMERICAN 
NATION FROM THE PEASANTS OF KEMRA. 

Sir :—Your presence in our country is evidence of a 
mutual sympathy, and betokens an everlasting peace be¬ 
tween the two great nations, America and Russia. 

This warm friendship sprung up in the days of similar 
hardships experienced by two great peoples : by the 
Americans in a civil war, by the Russians in the Polish 
rebellion. But these great afflictions were triumphantly 
overcome, and each country fully restored to its unity. 


326 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


The whole of Russia and the Russian nation greet, 
you, our honored guests. TVe, the peasants of Kemra, 
beg permission to be numbered among them, and to ex¬ 
press to you our warmest sympathy, and to welcome you, 
high representatives of the great American nation. 

In the name of the people of Kemra, elected head 
of the village, Bugreenoff. 

Peasants: Michael Matovin. 

Ivan Bugreenoff. 

Alexander Steliaroff. 

Merchant: Ivan Sobtsoff. 

Ivan Malintchin. 

Merchant: Andreas Mirofskot. 

Simeon Rawgunoff. 

Peter Sdunen. 

Merchant’s son : Nicholas Sobtsoff. 

Ivan Bogomotcheff. 

Kemka, August 23, 1866. 

The deputation that presented this address was com¬ 
posed entirely of peasants, no government officials being 
present. The authorities of the town were all elected by 
the body of the people, under the new system of self-gov¬ 
ernment authorized by the present Emperor. 

After the address of welcome, the gentlemen of the 
mission were invited ashore to visit the church and to 
take tea. The church is a fine building, in imitation of 
the patriarchal church at Moscow. It was lighted in¬ 
stantly by means of a combustible thread running from 
candle to candle. 


KORTCHEVA. 


327 


After a walk through the village, the party took tea 
with the officials and some of the principal inhabitants. 
Champagne was produced freely, and a few toasts were 
given. When the Americans left, the people accompanied 
them to the river-bank with torches and lanterns. Some 
of the houses were illuminated, and a long line of torches 
was planted on each side of the road, making a very pleas¬ 
ing effect. Almost the whole population of the village 
crowded the landing, and cheered lustily as the steamer 
pushed off. 

Kemra contains about twenty-five hundred inhabitants, 
whose chief occupation is the manufacture of boots and 
shoes. Men only are employed in this work, the women 
laboring in the fields. Mr. Fox asked to see some of their 
products. This request appeared to please them much, 
and in a few minutes a great number of boots and shoes, 
of all shapes and sizes, were brought in and exhibited. 

September 5th {August %Uh ).—Wednesday opened 
bright and pleasant. The steamboat had been obliged to 
anchor the greater part of the night, on account of the 
shoalness of the water, so that but little progress had been 
made. At half-past seven in the morning, she stopped 
at Kortcheva to wood. A deputation, consisting of the 
mayor, the chief of police, and the principal personages 
of the town, came on board and requested an audience 
with Mr. Fox, to announce to him that he had been elected 
an honorary citizen of Kortcheva. They also invited him 
and the other gentlemen to land, and partake of tea and 
refreshments. At the entertainment which followed, Mr. 


328 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


Fox toasted his new fellow-citizens, which elicited much 
enthusiasm from the good people. 

Kortclieva is a town of about three thousand inhabi¬ 
tants, engaged mostly, like Kemra, in the boot and shoe 
business. There were no government officials there, 
which made the welcome tendered by its people the more 
significant. Wherever our mission went, it was received 
by the peasant-class with the utmost enthusiasm; and 
heart-felt expressions of love and gratitude to the United 
States were heard in every little village. 

At the next stopping-place for wood, the peasants 
brought on board presents of fresh-caught fish. 

At half-past five in the afternoon, Tver, the end of the 
voyage, was reached. 

The city, which has a population of about twenty-five 
thousand, occupies a commanding site, on the left bank 
of the Yolga, one hundred and seventy-five feet above the 
water. The railway from St. Petersburg to Moscow 
crosses the river at this point on a fine bridge built on the 
American plan. 

Mr. Fox was received at the steamboat-landing by 
Prince Mestchersky, marshal of the nobility of the prov¬ 
ince, by Prince Bagration, the governor, by the mayor, 
and representatives of the corporations, and by many of 
the principal citizens. The railway-station was gayly 
dressed with flags, and a band played “ Hail Columbia.” 
After the formal congratulations, the party were taken in 
carriages to the principal points of attraction in the city, 
and afterward to dinner in the railway-station. 

Tver dates from the latter part of the twelfth century, 


WELCOME AT TVER. 


329 


blit the most of its public buildings belong to a more 
modern period. In one of its churches, which has a hand¬ 
some three-storied belfry, are buried the ancient princes 
ot the province. The Church of the Hoi} 7 Trinity is a 
well-preserved specimen of early Russian architecture. 

There is a large business done at Tver in grain and 
iron, and there are a number of nail-factories there. The 
iron is brought down the Kama from Siberia, and much 
of it is shipped back again in its manufactured state. 
There is also a considerable trade with Astrakhan, at the 
mouth of the Yolga, more than two thousand miles dis¬ 
tant, and with the ports in the Caspian. 

The dinner in the railway-station was an elegant 
affair, notwithstanding the haste with which it had been 
prepared. The hall was hung with flags, and decorated 
with flowers and evergreens. Portraits of Lincoln and 
Johnson were on the walls. 

The Americans were greeted with cheers and music 
as they entered, and Prince Bagration, the Governor of 
Tver, welcomed them in a few appropriate words. 

The governor also gave the first toast, “ To the Presi¬ 
dent of the United States of America,” which was re¬ 
ceived with applause, and followed by our national air. 

Mr. Fox responded: 

“ To him, who belongs entirely to Russia, but is rec¬ 
ognized as a leader wherever the principles of Christian¬ 
ity and civilization are in the ascendant—his Imperial 
Majesty Alexander II.” 

Similar enthusiasm followed this toast, and the music, 

“ God save the Emperor ! ” 


330 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


Prince Mestchersky then gave a toast “ to the health 
of the Honorable Mr. Fox, the Envoy of the United 
States of America,” which was received with loud 
cheers. 

Glinka, an aged soldier who fought at Borodino and 
Moscow, arose as soon as the applause had subsided, and 
read a poem of his own composition, celebrating the 
friendship of Russia and America. 

When he had finished, Mr. Fox spoke as follows: 

“During my journeys in Russia, I have met every¬ 
where an extraordinary and universal sympathy. This 
feeling, maintained in its strength, will conduct the two 
nations to a closer union for their mutual welfare and hap¬ 
piness. But, in speaking of the future, the past should 
not be forgotten—the past, in which the principles advo¬ 
cated by Russia, and carried by her to a successful issue, 
have raised her to the height of power and of glory. The 
governor and the marshal of the nobility will pardon me, 
I trust, if, instead of a response to their kind toast, I pro¬ 
pose one in honor of that glorious epoch for Russia and 
her representative ” (pointing to Glinka), “ an epoch when 
Russia, rising like one man, drove from her territory 
such numerous and powerful enemies. May the same 
fate overtake those who, in the future, invade Russian 
soil! ” (Great applause.) 

After a toast to the governor by Captain Murray, 
Mr. Curtin proposed one to the health of the marshal of 
the nobility, of the vice-governor, and of the mayor. 
Others followed to the prosperity of America, and to the 
health of Admiral Lessovsky, but time pressed, and the 


RETURN TO ST. PETERSBURG. 


331 


arrival of the train from Moscow brought the festivities 
to a close. 

Prince Bagration gave the final toast. He said : 

“ Gentlemen, there is an end even to joys. We must 
separate from the eminent guests whom we have received 
with sincere enthusiasm, and whose memory we shall 
always preserve. In accompanying them on their jour¬ 
ney with our cordial wishes for their happiness, let us not 
forget those in a distant land who await their return with 
love and impatience. I drink to the health of the fami¬ 
lies of our dear guests, and of all the American ladies.” 

The members of the mission departed for St. Peters¬ 
burg on the train at seven o’clock, the crowd cheering 
and the band playing as they left the station. 

September 6th (August 25th ).—After a pleasant night- 
ride, unattended by any noteworthy incidents, the party 
reached St. Petersburg at nine o’clock the next morning, 
and reoccupied their rooms at the Hotel de France. Mr. 
Fox attended to private business during the day, and 
dined informally in the evening with Admiral Popoff and 
family. 

During the night, Acting Volunteer-Lieutenant Wheel¬ 
er of the Augusta was taken ill with the cholera at the 
Hotel de France. Much uneasiness was felt at his condi¬ 
tion by his friends, and the Russian officials exhibited 
their anxiety concerning him by the most unremitting 
attentions. Admiral Lessovsky sat up all night with 
him, and did not leave his bedside until the physicians on 
the following day pronounced him to be out of danger. 


332 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


September 7th (August 26th ).—Various parts of the 
city were visited, especially the bazaars, where purchases 
were made of articles peculiar to Russia and her manu¬ 
factures. The Gostinnoy Dvor, or Great Bazaar, of St. 
Petersburg, is on the Nevsky Prospect, and extends over 
several squares. It is two stories in height, the lower of 
which is occupied by retail shops of almost every variety 
of merchandise, while the upper is devoted to the storage 
of goods and to wholesale dealing. The numerous lanes 
and alleys by which it is intersected are crowded by day 
with purchasers ; but at night, after business-hours, the 
great building is deserted by all excepting the watchmen, 
none of the merchants living in their shops, as is the cus¬ 
tom in Constantinople. 

Almost every thing can be bought within the bounds 
of this colossal fair, but the purchaser should understand 
the Russian language well enough to bargain and know 
something of the actual worth of the articles wanted, if 
he would expend his money to advantage. There are 
many shops, however, where the English language is 
spoken, and where all goods are sold at undeviating 
prices. 

In the evening Mr. Fox and several of the other gen¬ 
tlemen attended the opera at the Bolchoy (Great) Thea¬ 
tre. This house, which is under government patronage, 
is unsurpassed in any other of the European capitals for 
size and magnificence. It will seat over three thousand 
persons, and has five rows of boxes. The scenery, cos¬ 
tumes, and stage accessories, are as near perfection as can 
be attained by the lavish expenditure of money, and its 


TELEGRAM FROM PERM. 


333 


troupe of actors, singers, and ballet-dancers, is unexcelled. 
There is a government school in St. Petersburg for the 
education of actresses and ballet-dancers, for which large 
sums are appropriated yearly. At the Bolchoy Theatre 
the operas and ballets are given with great splendor and 
perfection of detail. Glinka’s beautiful opera, “ Life for 
the Czar,” was produced on the night of Mr. Fox’s visit. 
It is a great favorite in Russia, and never fails to arouse 
the patriotic enthusiasm of the audience. 

At its conclusion, the party went to the club-grounds 
of the Merchants’ Society for Mutual Assistance. There 
was a general illumination, and the remainder of the 
evening passed very agreeably with dancing and music. 

On this day a telegram was received from Perm, a town 
on the Kama River, near the borders of Siberia. It was 
addressed to Prince Gortchakoff, and was as follows : 


Perm, Axigust 26, 1866. 

The society of Perm, in all its classes, at the dinner 
given on the occasion of the solemnity of the anniversary 
of his Imperial Majesty’s coronation, welcomes with a 
unanimous toast the worthy and highly-honored repre¬ 
sentatives of the American nation, our friends and guests, 
and most respectfully begs your Excellency to communi¬ 
cate it to them. 

In the absence of the Governor, 

The President of the Board of State, 

Kikitine, and 

The Mayor of the town, Kamensky. 


334 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


Mr. Jox acknowledged tlie receipt of the friendly 
missive, and thanked the citizens of Perm for their wel¬ 
come. 

September 8th {August 2 7th ).—At ten o’clock on Sat¬ 
urday morning, Mr. Fox, Captain Murray, Commander 
Beaumont, and Mr. Loubat, went to Strelna, a palace of 
the Grand-duke Constantine’s, about twelve miles from 
St. Petersburg, to he presented to her Imperial Highness 
the Grand-ducliess Alexandra Josefovna, the wife of the 
Grand-duke Constantine. 

The gentlemen were shown into a drawing-room, 
where, much to their surprise and gratification, they 
found the maids of honor, the two young Countesses 
Keller and the two young Countesses Komarovsky, and the 
Baroness de Kantzau (of an old and distinguished Wurt- 
temberg family, and governess to the Grand-duchess Olga, 
daughter of the Grand-duke Constantine, and now Queen 
of Greece), all clad in white, with sashes of red, white, 
and blue, and with ribbons of the same colors in their 
hair. The grand-duchess entered in a few minutes with 
her daughter Olga, each dressed in a similar manner to 
the maids of honor. Her Imperial Highness led by the 
hand her little son, who wore a sailor’s costume complete 
in all its details. A more strikingly handsome and more 
queen-like woman cannot be conceived of, and her daugh¬ 
ter was scarcely less beautiful. The grand-duchess was 
born Princess of Saxe-Altenburg, and is sister to the ex- 
Queen of Hanover. 

The Grand-duke Constantine, who was absent in the 



©X&EyiD) EDEJJKIE 









GRAND-DUKE CONSTANTINE. 


335 


Caucasus at the time of this visit, is grand-admiral of the 
Russian Navy. He is one of the most intelligent and 
most learned princes in the world, and his merit would 
have given him fame and a distinguished position even if 
he had not been so near a throne. His father, the Emper¬ 
or Nicholas, placed him early under the tuition of Cap¬ 
tain (now Admiral) Liitke, a good scholar and excellent 
seaman. The Grand-duke displayed great aptitude for 
study, and soon became an adept in naval science, and in 
kindred branches of knowledge.* He paid much atten¬ 
tion to languages, and now speaks with fluency, besides 
his native tongue, the English, German, French, and 
Turkish. He is a proficient also in music, and takes 
especial delight in classical authors. 

In 1815 he paid a visit to Constantinople, being the 
first prince of the imperial house of Russia that had set 
foot in that city since it fell into the hands of the Moslem. 
He was received by the Sultan, Abdul Medjid, with dis¬ 
tinguished honors, notwithstanding that it was wdiispered 
among the Greek subjects of the Sublime Porte that he 
was the Constantine destined, in accordance with a 
prophecy, to restore to its ancient faith and glory the 
city of Constantine, which w r as lost under a Constan¬ 
tine. 

Two years after, he cruised in the Ingermanland, a 
ship-of-the-line launched under his directions at Archan¬ 
gel, 1 in the Baltic, the North Sea, and the Atlantic; and, 

1 Archangel, the city of the Archangel Michael, named from a monastery 
built there in the sixteenth century, is the capital of the government of the 
same name, the most northern in European Russia. It is situated about 


336 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


in the Pallas, in the Mediterranean. After this cruise, in 
which he was accompanied by Admiral Lutke, he visited 
most of the principal cities of Europe, and returned home 
by land. It was at this time that he became betrothed to 
a princess of Saxe-Altenburg, whom he married the year 
following (1848), and who, in accepting the Greek faith, 
took the name of Alexandra Josefovna. 

The Grand-duke Constantine is also a soldier of merit, 
and of tried courage. In 1849 he accompanied Field- 
Marshal Paskevitch in his Hungarian campaign. Al¬ 
though but twenty-two years of age, he greatly distin¬ 
guished himself, and received the cross of St. George for 
gallantry on the field of battle. At one time an engage¬ 
ment was won by the Grand-duke, who brought a battery 
into position at a critical moment, and directed its fire so 
accurately as to rout the enemy. 

During the war with the allied powers, he was in¬ 
trusted with the defence of the Baltic, a duty which 
he performed most successfully. In 1853 the Grand- 
duke’s yacht was capsized off Cronstadt by a sudden 
squall, and he was nearly lost. He sustained himself 
in the water on a broken spar for over an hour, encoura¬ 
ging his companions with great coolness and presence of 
mind, until all were rescued from their perilous position. 

Under his direction, the Russian Uavy has made great 
and rapid progress of late years. He was much interested 
in the emancipation of the serfs, and aided the Emperor 

forty miles above the mouth of the river Dwina, which empties into the 
White Sea. There is a navy-yard there, and the surrounding country 
abounds in the best of ship-timber. 


BREAKFAST AT GRAND-DUCHESS CONSTANTINE’S. 337 


materially in bringing about the enfranchisement which 
has added so much to the glory of his reign. 

Her Imperial Highness, the Grand-duchess, expressed 
regret at her husband’s absence, and invited the gentle¬ 
men to breakfast with her. 

Strelna is prettily situated on high ground overlook¬ 
ing the waters of the Gulf of Finland. It is surrounded 
by neatly-kept gardens in the Dutch style. Peter the 
Great built the palace originally for his daughter Eliza¬ 
beth, but it has undergone many changes since his time. 
It was burned in the reign of the Emperor Alexander I., 
who rebuilt it almost entirely. 

The breakfast was laid in a piazza in front of the pal¬ 
ace, whence was obtained a beautiful view of the grounds 
and of the waters of the gulf. 

Besides the Americans, the following persons were 
present: 


Maids of Honor. 


J 


Grand-duchess Constantine. 

Grand-duchess Olga, her daughter , now Queen of Greece. 
Countess Marie Keller, 

Countess Kina Keller, 

Countess Annette Komarovsky, 

Countess Elizabeth Komarovsky, 

Baroness de Bantzau. 

Mr. Tengoborsky, Master of Ceremonies of his Imperial 
Highness. 

Mr. Bibikoff, Eguermy of his Imperial Highness. 

Count Armfelt, Gentleman of the Chamber of his Im¬ 
perial Highness. 



338 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


Colonel Kirgoff, Aide-de-camp of his Imperial High¬ 
ness. 

Vice-Admiral Crabbe, Minister of the Nary. 
Rear-Admiral Prince Michael Galitzine. 

Major-General Grabbe , 1 of the suite of his Imperial Ma¬ 
jesty. 

Captain Euler, commander of the Strelna , the Grand- 
duke' 1 s steam-yacht. 

Captain Iyitkine, commander of the Grand-duke's sail¬ 
ing-yacht. 

Lieutenant Peleng, gentleman attached to the young 
Grand-dukes. 

Captain Handjoglo ( wounded at Sevastopol). 

Mr. Koudriavtzeff, of the Imperial Household. 

The breakfast passed off in tlie most agreeable man¬ 
ner, the pleasures of the table being enhanced by music 
from a concealed band. Mr. Fox and the gentlemen ac¬ 
companying him took leave of her Imperial Highness at 
half-past two p. m., and returned to St. Petersburg in 
Admiral Crabbe’s yacht. 

1 Major-General Grabbe is commandant of one of the regiments of the 
Imperial Horse Guards. His regiment is mounted entirely on black horses, 
and it is one of the finest in the service. General Grabbe was for many 
years in the Caucasus, where he greatly distinguished himself. 


CHAPTER XXIV. 


BANQUET OF THE ENGLISH CLUB—SPEECH OF PRINCE GORT- 

CIIAKOFF. 

At five o’clock of the same day, Mr. Fox, Mr. Lou- 
bat, General Clay, Mr. Curtin, Captain Murray, Com¬ 
mander Beaumont, and other officers, attended a grand 
banquet given in honor of the mission by the English 
Club of St. Petersburg. This is the aristocratic club of 
Russia, among its members being many of the highest 
officials of the government. It was founded in 1770 by 
an English gentleman on the club-system of his native 
country ; hence its peculiar name, which no longer serves 
to characterize it, as it is now intensely Russian. 

The banquet was semi-official in character, and in¬ 
tended as a public declaration of the friendship between 
Russia and the United States. As such, it was regarded 
as an event of. unusual significance. 

The dinner was a model one in eveiy respect, and en¬ 
tirely free from any thing like a popular demonstration. 
There was no crowd in the street, and no band at the 
door. The guests were met in the reception-room, and, 


340 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


after the usual “ zakuska,” were conducted to the grand 
dining-hall of the club, where the greater part of the 
company had already assembled. 

About two hundred and fifty persons were present. 
Prince Gortchakofi* was seated at the head of the principal 
table, with Mr. Clay at his right and Mr. Fox on his left. 
There were no speeches at the dinner, and but three 
toasts. They were as follows; 

1. The health of the Emperor. 

2. The healtli of the Empress, of the Cezarevitch, and 
of the Imperial family. 

3. The prosperity of the American people, and the 
health of the President and of the Representatives of the 
United States, ordinary and extraordinary. 

The bill of fare was printed in gold, on glazed board, 
within a gilt border. At the top, a shield, surmounted 
by a crown, bore two clasped hands, with the motto, 
“ Concordia et Lsetitia.” Above the hands was “ 1770,” 
the date of the club’s foundation. 

The menu was as follows: 

DlNER 

du 27 Aout , 1866, 

PAR LA SOCIETE ANGLAISE DE ST.-PETERSBOBRG. 

1. Potage Tortue k la Chambord au vin du Rhin. 

2. Consomme aux legumes la Saint-Phard. 

3. Boudins de volailles. Petites bouchees en corbeilles. 

4. Truite froide ii la Neva. 

5. Filets de boeuf piques & la Bearnaise. 

6. Poulets sautes aux truffes k la Mortalaise. 


PRINCE GORTCHAKOFF’S SPEECH. 


341 


1. Punch t\ la Romaine. 

8. Rots : B6cassines, coqs de bruy&re et doubles. 

9. Petit pois et foods d’artichauts. 

10. Pains d’abricots h la Parisienne et fromage glace garni de fancho- 
nettes. 


After dinner a quiet hour was passed in an adjoining 
room, with coffee, tea, and cigars. Then, in accordance 
with the ancient custom of the English Club at its ex¬ 
traordinary meetings, the company returned to the dining¬ 
room and placed themselves once more about the table, 
upon which the punch was already blazing under the su¬ 
perintendence of General Grabbe. 

As soon as the glasses were filled, General Tolstoy, a 
director of the club, turning toward Prince Gortchakotf, 
spoke as follows: 

“Prince Alexander Micha'ilovitch, our assembly begs 
you to communicate to our guests from America the sym¬ 
pathy we have for them ; we thank them for accepting 
our invitation; we rejoice that they have had once more 
an opportunity to witness the expression of the sentiments 
which Russia entertains for America.” (“ Bravo ! ”) 

Prince Gortchakoff arose in response to this request, 
and addressed the meeting at length, speaking in the 
French language. lie said: 

“ Gentlemen : Our friends from across the Atlantic 
understand the sentiments with which their presence and 
the object of their coming inspire us. These sentiments 
have been expressed to them by every class in the social 
scale—where mind illustrates thought, and where the 
heart knows but a primitive tongue. They have been 


342 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


heard like the echo of a single voice; mine can add but 
little to it. 

“ The exceptional act, unique in history, by which 

\ 

Congress has conveyed a message of affection to our sov¬ 
ereign ; the choice of the person who has been charged 
with its delivery, whose high position and dignity, united 
to a warmth of heart, we fully appreciate ; the skill and 
courage of those who brought the monitor across the 
ocean, solving a problem which till now has baffled mod¬ 
ern science; and, finally, the fact that among us is 
found a representative of that nation which, during a 
series of years and under all circumstances, has given us 
proofs of a strong desire to preserve a good understanding 
between the two countries—all this, gentlemen, consti¬ 
tutes a complete and harmonious whole, without a dis¬ 
cord. 

“ I rejoice at the presence of these gentlemen, for I 
believe that Russia loses nothing by being looked at close¬ 
ly. Distance rounds the lines of a far-off horizon, but 
only a near inspection can give a thorough knowledge of 
details. 

“ I congratulate myself that practical minds, strangers 
to prejudice, have come to judge us as we are. They will 
be able to appreciate both the sovereign, who is the great¬ 
est glory of the country, and the people, which constitutes 
its strength. (“ Bravo ! hurrah ! ”) 

“ It is said that good reigns furnish blank pages for 
history. This saying is not absolutely true. If there is 
a reign of which every page is fruitful in reforms of a 
high character in the interest of internal organization ; if 


PRINCE GORTCHAKOFF’S SPEECH. 


343 


there is a reign devoted to a care for the present, in view 
of a grand future—it is that which unites to-day all the 
affectionate and devoted sentiments of the nation, be¬ 
cause we all have the absolute conviction that every mo¬ 
ment of that noble existence is consecrated with an un¬ 
limited devotion to the welfare of our country. (Enthu¬ 
siastic applause.) 

“ I will cite among these numerous works the grandest 
of them all—that of emancipation—and here I beg of our 
American friends permission to speak frankly. The reso¬ 
lution of Congress contains an error, which distance only 
can account for, where it mentions an enemy of emanci¬ 
pation. The madman to whom it alludes belongs to no 
nationality. He had no personal stake in the destinies 
of the country ; he represents the blind chance of birth 
only. (Applause.) 

“ In Russia, gentlemen, there exists not a single ene¬ 
my of emancipation. The class upon which this measure 
has imposed heavy sacrifices has welcomed it with the 
same enthusiasm as those who owe to it their liberty. 
This testimony our sovereign has been the first to render 
to his territorial nobility, and I believe, gentlemen, that 
in this circle, which represents both intellect and proper¬ 
ty, no voice will be raised to contradict my words. (Ap¬ 
plause.) 

“ There is no need to dwell on the manifestations of 
sympathy between the two countries. They shine in the 
broad light of day. It is a fact the most interesting of 
our epoch, a fact which creates between two nations—I 
will say rather between two continents—germs of recipro- 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


3 U 

cal good-will and friendship which will bear fruit, which 
create traditions, and which tend to consolidate between 
them relations founded upon the true spirit of Christian 
civilization. This understanding does not rest on geo¬ 
graphical proximity—the gulf of oceans separates us. Nor 
does it rest on parchment—I have not found any trace of 
it in the archives of the ministry confided to me. It is 
instinctive ; nay, more, I dare to call it providential. I 
rejoice in its existence; I have faith in its duration. In 
my political position, all my care shall tend to its con¬ 
solidation. I say care and not efforts, because efforts are 
unnecessary when the attraction is spontaneous and recip¬ 
rocal. (“ Bravo! ”) 

“ Another motive which induces me to proclaim em¬ 
phatically my appreciation of this good understanding is, 
that it is neither a menace nor a peril to any one. It de¬ 
rives its inspiration neither from covetousness nor from 
any sinister design. God has given to the two countries 
such conditions of existence that their grand internal life 
suffices for them. (Applause.) 

“ The United States of America are invulnerable at 
home. This state of things is founded not only on the 
fact that the rampart of ocean guarantees them against 
European complications, but upon the public spirit which 
rules them, and upon the personal character of their citi¬ 
zens. America cannot experience any evil that she does 
not make for herself. We have draped with mourning 
the sad pages of these latter times. We witnessed with 
deep regret the struggle between the brothers of the 
North and of the South ; but we always had faith in the 


PRINCE GORTCHAKOFF’E SPEECH. 


345 


final triumph of the Union, and we hope for its per¬ 
manent consolidation through the efforts of the present 
President, whose policy, inspired at once by firmness and 
moderation, has all our sympathy. 

“ I find, also, a certain analogy between the two coun¬ 
tries. Russia, by her geographical position, may be 
drawn into European complications; the chances of war 
may bring us reverses. Nevertheless, I think that Russia 
possesses a like invulnerability, which she will make 
manifest whenever her dignity and her honor shall be 
seriously menaced (bravos); for then, as in all the crises 
of our history, the true power of Russia will show itself; 
it does not lie simply in her territorial extent, nor in the 
number of her population ; it is in the intimate and in¬ 
dissoluble bond which unites the nation and the sover¬ 
eign, and which confides to his hands all the material and 
intellectual forces of the country, and centres in him 
every sentiment of love and of devotion. (Unanimous 
applause.) 

“ I thank you, gentlemen, for the indulgence which 
you have accorded to my words, while regretting that the 
sentiments which animate us have had so imperfect an 
expression.” (Unanimous cries, “ On the contrary, they 
are perfect.”) 

“ Before concluding, as I do not wish to leave any 
thing* unsaid with which our friends from America would 
have the right to reproach us, let me not forget to conse¬ 
crate a few words of respect to the memory of President 
Lincoln—that great citizen, who sacrificed his life in the 
performance of his duty. (Applause.) 


346 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


“ Permit me, then, returning to a sentiment that we 
have already given, to propose a toast to the prosperity of 
the United States, to the success of the work of pacifica¬ 
tion, to the present President, to Mr. Fox, to whom has 
been confided a task which could not have been put into 
better hands ; to Captains Murray and Beaumont, whose 
intrepidity and skill insured the success of that long 
voyage, and to all of those collectively who participated 
in it. I should be guilty of ingratitude did I forget the 
present representative of the United States now among 
us, who has constantly given proof of his affection for 
Russia. (Cheers.) 

“ When our friends from America return home, I 
trust that they will take with them and preserve the sen¬ 
timents which they leave behind with us ; that they will 
tell their countrymen that a great nation will never forget 
the proof of sympathy offered to its sovereign ; that it 
will never forget that there was a moment in the history 
of the two nations, when we and our friends from America 
lived the same life, when they shared our sorrows as well 
as our joys.” 1 

Prince Gortchakoff’s speech closed amid a murmur of 
approbation, which soon broke into enthusiastic and pro¬ 
longed applause. The gentlemen present crowded around 
to congratulate him on the expression of sentiments which 
coincided so exactly with their own. The cheering cul¬ 
minated in “ Hail Columbia ” by the band, after which 
Mr. Skripitzine pressed forward to the table and spoke as 
follows: 


1 Appendix D. 


BANQUET OF THE ENGLISH CLUB. 


347 


“ Gentlemen, let us tliank Prince Alexander Micha'il- 
ovitch for having abstained until to-day from taking part 
in the public manifestations. By so doing, the Prince 
has given to all the Russian people the opportunity to 
express freely their sentiments, to prove freely their sym¬ 
pathy, which no one could doubt. The eloquent discourse 
of the Prince has confirmed the sincerity of all the 
mission has heard and seen among us.” (“ That is true.”) 
“ At the same time, the Prince has proved that the gov¬ 
ernment of our great sovereign, like that of the United 
States, is never at variance with popular feeling. This 
union of the two governments and of the two peoples 
constitutes their great strength. Permit me to propose a 
toast to the health of Prince Alexander Michailovitch.” 

Cheers several times repeated greeted this sentiment, 
after which Mr. Fox spoke: 

“ In the presence of him who has spoken in the name 
of Russia, I ought not to open my mouth. My mission 
was accomplished when I placed in the hands of his 
Majesty the Resolution of Congress. But there has been 
another mission to fulfil. In remaining in Russia to 
accept its hospitality, I assumed a very difficult and deli¬ 
cate part: that of representing day by day the spirit 
which dictated that resolution. Until my return to 
Washington, where I must receive the approbation or 
censure of my government, I shall not know whether I 
have satisfactorily performed that obligation. What I 
am sure of is, that everywhere in Russia, from the high¬ 
est to the most humble, there has been unanimity in the 
welcome given to us. In the course of a reception with- 


348 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


out precedent, even in this empire, the great people on 
whose broad shoulders rests the national unity, have 
cast their sympathies before us like a garment thrown 
in our path. If there has been any thing wanting 
in these interchanges, I have been in fault, not any Rus¬ 
sian. 

“ And now, to the word of welcome and the bright 
sunshine that accompanied it, have succeeded sad fare¬ 
wells and the sombre clouds of winter. But beyond 
shines the eternal sun. Human passions may, in the 
future, raise threatening clouds between the two coun¬ 
tries. God grant that they who shall then have the con¬ 
trol of affairs may see, like Saint Paul, a light from 
heaven shining round about them, a divine light ema¬ 
nating from the sympathies of these days ! When the 
dark night of civil war was spread over America, there 
was one great statesman in Europe whose prophetic eye 
saw the dawn of final victory. (Bravos and loud ap¬ 
plause.) His sympathetic words fell on our hearts and 
grew there, like pearls. He has attained the evening of 
his days; the glories of the setting sun, emblematic of 
his life, surround him. As the sun, by Divine permis¬ 
sion, stood still for Joshua, so may he abide for the eyes 
of both nations to look up to ! (Great applause.) Ameri¬ 
ca gives the health of Prince Gortchakoff.” (Loud cheers, 
and the Russian Hymn.) 

When the applause which succeeded Mr. Fox’s speech 
had subsided, Mr. Maikoff read a poem in the Russian 
language, written by Mr. Rosenheim, which he had trans¬ 
lated previously, line by line, to the Americans. It was 


BANQUET OF THE ENGLISH CLUB. 


349 


a farewell to the mission, and it was received with cries 
of “ Bravo! ” “ Good ! ” 

The next speaker was Count Orloff-Davydofi*. He 
said: 

“ Gentlemen : After the numerous speeches made in 
honor of the American deputation at Cronstadt, at Mos¬ 
cow, and elsewhere, after the address made this evening 
by the minister who represents before our contemporaries 
and before history the present policy of Russia, it seems 
to me that I ought to he particularly modest in my 
remarks. But there is a word which I wish to speak, 
because it sums up, in my judgment, the character of the 
honorable deputation wdiich we have the happiness to see 
among us, and that of the great power which this depu¬ 
tation represents. 

“ This word, gentlemen, is— initiative. 

“ There is not a power that has not given proofs of 
sympathy to the Russian nation on the occasion of the 
attempt of the 4th of April. There is but one power 
that has sent to us a whole deputation, with one of its 
chiefs of state at its head. And it is this solemnity, not 
of form, but of composition, not of the squadron, but of 
the persons that it brought, that I can justly designate by 
the name of initiative. 

“ This deputation, the interpreter of peaceful and of 
amicable sentiments, has brought with it a great marine 
monster—the Miantonomoh. It exhibited it in England, 
brought it into our waters, and allowed it to be visited 
by the multitude with a generous indifference, justified, 
however, by the assurance that America need not fear 


350 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


any imitation of her invention. In fact, the imitation 
of a new engine of war can, at the best, establish an 
equality between the inventor and the imitator who is 
behindhand, but cannot give any superiority to the lat¬ 
ter. For an engine of destruction, to be all-powerful, 
must be original, and a monopoly which belongs to its 
author. Then, like gunpowder, as long as it was known 
only to a single power, the new arm is assured of a force 
equal to that which defeated the brave knights sung by 
Ariosto, who lamented that the new invention reduced 
the brave man to an equality with the coward. 

“ But it is not alone by engines of destruction; it is 
also by those of construction and of public utility that 
most of the initiatives are due to the Americans. The 
American plough, the application of steam to agricultu¬ 
ral work, American bridges, and a host of other inven¬ 
tions, have been adopted by us, preserving in them the 
name of the nation that is their author. It is all very 
well to follow a good example, but the glory is to him who 
gives it. 

“ May we also see erected among us establishments 
like the great penitentiary prisons of America, in which 
the sublime inspired idea is not to stop at the punishment, 
but to bring about also the reform of the criminal! 

“ I have not yet named the most sacred of all the ini¬ 
tiatives taken in the New World. It was in the course of 
the last war in America, that we saw established, through 
immense pecuniary sacrifices, a society to succor the 
wounded and the dying. The combat scarcely ended, 
the apostles of consolation spread themselves over the 


BANQUET OF THE ENGLISH CLUB. 


351 


field of battle, never asking whether it was a Southerner 
or a Northerner that stretched toward them his imploring 
hand. It will be oue of the glories of the conqueror Lin¬ 
coln, it will be the supreme consolation of the vanquished 
Jefferson Davis, that he patronized this holy and benefi¬ 
cent institution. 

“ Once more has the example borne fruit, and it was 
in a republic of our ancient Europe that a similar broth¬ 
erhood was organized in the course of the war just ended 
in Germany. I will say then to our illustrious guests: 
Rejoice in having again imitators; glory in your initiative , 
and, as a poet, whose name and works are familiar to 
you, says : 

“ ‘ Indulge your honest pride, and say—how well! ’ 

“ I have the honor to propose to you, gentlemen, to 
drink to the prosperity of the charitable Christian societies 
in the United States of America.” (“ Bravo ! Bravo! ”) 

Captain Murray followed. He thanked Prince Gort- 
chakoff for his compliments, and expressed his gratitude 
for the gracious hospitality which had been extended to 
the officers of the squadron wherever they had been in 
Russia, and which had made an impression that time 
cannot efface. 

“ It has been justly remarked here,” he said, “ that 
the sea has its dangers ; but we have overcome them only 
to expose ourselves to far greater dangers on land. Shall 
we be able to triumph over them also after having struck 
on the rock of Russian hospitality ? 

“ Gentlemen, permit me to offer a toast to the pros- 


352 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


perity of this magnificent club, which in its organization 
presents so many things worthy of admiration. Long 
live the English Club! ” (Applause.) 

The next speaker was General Clay, the United States 
minister. lie said : 

“ Gentlemen : I am not insensible to your kindness, 
but after the able and conclusive speeches of my dis¬ 
tinguished friends, Prince Gortchakoff, Count Davydoflf, 
and the Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox, nothing re¬ 
mains for me but to express my thanks to my eminent 
friend the 'Minister of Foreign Affairs for the compli¬ 
ments he has paid to me. 

“ Having always been the friend of Russia, because she 
has always been the friend of my country, I will hazard 
a word in the spirit which has governed all my official 
and my personal relations with this great nation. Peace 
is judged here, as with us, to be the true policy of na¬ 
tions. With a population of seventy millions of the same 
language and religion, strong in the love of her father 
and sovereign, Russia can treat with indifference the lit¬ 
tle questions of the balance of power, and devote all her 
energy to the development of her civil, social, and ma¬ 
terial well-being. 

“ I give, then, a toast to trade, agriculture, education, 
and manufactures, more powerful than arms for maintain¬ 
ing the independence and liberty of nations.” (Cheers.) 

Commander Beaumont also thanked Prince Gortcha- 
kofif for his flattering attention. He would have wished 
to drink to the prosperity of this hospitable association, 
but, as every thing had already been said on that subject, 


BANQUET OF THE ENGLISH CLUB. 


353 


it only remained for him to wish with all his heart the 
prosperity of the company. 

Admiral Crabbe followed: 

“ I will not renew,” he said, “ the expression of our 
feelings. On our side, and on that of these gentlemen, 
our guests, we have heard enough of them. But I will 
propose a toast to the health of my comrades in the ser¬ 
vice who were the first to win the love of the Americans, 

i 

and who knew how to cultivate good relations with 
them.” (Cries of “ Lessovsky ! Lessovsky! ”) “ Permit 

me, gentlemen, to give a general toast to our Navy.” 

After Admiral Crabbe, Mr. Skripitzine drew, in the 
warmest language, a parallel between Russia and Amer¬ 
ica, comparing their native forms of government, the in¬ 
dependence of their religious administrations, and their 
historical existences. He mentioned also the respect felt 
in Russia for the memory of Lincoln, and of the pious 
visit of the Americans to the tomb of Minin. In closing, 
Mr. Skripitzine gave a toast to the constant, indissoluble, 
and firm union of the two nations for the general prog¬ 
ress and development of their peoples. (“ Bravo ! ”) 

Mr. Curtin then spoke as follows, in Russian, as usual: 

“ I did not expect to have the honor of addressing 
you to-night. I knew that to-day he through whom 
Russia has spoken for so many years would speak. (‘ Bra¬ 
vo ! bravo !’) Me are met here in a family reunion ; in 
this family circle we all remember that recently, by a 
stroke of his powerful pen, Prince Gortchakoff dispersed 
the clouds that menaced Russia. ( £ Bravo ! ’) I do not find 

my insignificant and inconsistent voice—” (“ No! very 
23 



354 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


p-ood! too modest! bravo! ”) “ Ilis Excellency said there 

had been a misunderstanding (spoken in a whisper), and 
I rejoice that he has condescended to speak of it. The 
American Congress, on the reception of the mournful 
news, was eager to express the interest it took in it. I, 
who have lived nearly two years in Russia, I know well 
that there is no discord (‘ bravo ’); that Russia is like a 
single man in feeling (‘ bravo ! bravo ! ’); that if there is 
any rivalry in Russia, it is only in the devotion of Rus¬ 
sians to the sovereign of Russia. (‘ Bravo! ’) 

“ Europe and the whole world do not yet entirely 
appreciate the sacrifices that the nobility have made in 
this great reform (‘ bravo! ’) ; and if, in history, Alexander 
II. has the glory of having freed instead of having con¬ 
quered men, history will not forget that he was aided by 
Russia’s nobles. The world does not yet appreciate this 
act, because it is the first example in history where a class 
has made such a sacrifice (‘ bravo ! ’) ; do not forget what 
the labor of twenty millions of men signifies. It is a 
great capital in our avaricious age. (‘ Bravo ! ’) The most 
notable feature of this reform, of this reorganization, is 
that all classes have advanced with the Emperor, hand-in- 
hand. (‘ Bravo ! ’) The Emperor made the plan, the no¬ 
bility executed it, and the peasants enjoy all the benefits 
of which they were deprived. (‘ Bravo ! ’) Gentlemen, in 
this assembly, which includes the learning and the states¬ 
manship of Russia, where are united the best of Russia’s 
nobles, permit me to propose a toast to the Russian no¬ 
bility : may its glory be eternal! ” (“ Bravo ! bravo ! ”) 

Mr. Suchkoff followed. He said : 


BANQUET OF THE ENGLISH CLUB. 


355 


“Gentlemen: We have assembled to express onr 
gratitude to the American people for the sympathy they 
have shown for Russia. The mutual sympathy of the 
two nations needs no proof. That is a fact; that is an 
axiom. But I ought, in the profound joy that my Rus¬ 
sian heart feels, to express gratitude to him who, although 
belonging to a nation separated from us by oceans, unites 
with us in our common sentiments, in our common ten¬ 
dencies, by the expression of these feelings in our dear 
language ; to him who, loving Russia, knowing its sym¬ 
pathy for America, knowing the ties which exist between 
the two nations, has devoted his time to the study of our 
national language, and not only of our language, but 
also of our history. 

“ From the words spoken by Mr. Curtin, we see that 
he understands Russia well, and that he has established 
fully the fact that the sole direction, the sole feeling 
which unites Russia, is her devotion to her sovereign, 
which he correctly expresses by calling it a tendency 
toward the same objects. Permit me to propose the 
health of Mr. Curtin. (Applause.) 

“ Gentlemen, a toast has been given to the health of 
the Russians who were in America, and who established 
the foundations of our friendship, which, though they 
may have existed before, have now been strengthened 
and put upon more solid bases. Sympathizing deeply 
with this sentiment and accepting it with pleasure, in all 
the strength of the word, it is impossible for me not to 
speak of those individuals, and not to propose a toast to 
the health of him who was at the head of our fleet—to 


356 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


tlie health of Stephan Stephanovitch Lessovsky, who 
has gained thd cordial good-will of both Russians and 
Americans.” (“ Bravo ! ”) 

One of the company proposed to drink again to the 
health of Prince Gortchakoff, which elicited unanimous 
and loud applause. 

Prince Gortchakoff replied: 

“ Gentlemen : I cannot find words to express how 
much I am moved; but I ought to say that your personal 
kindness with regard to myself goes beyond what I have 
any right to expect. It has only fallen to my enviable 
lot to be the faithful executor of the august will and 
orders of my sovereign. (‘ Bravo! ’) I am happy in hav¬ 
ing understood the Russian people; but you all know how 
well and how truly our sovereign understands and esteems 
them.” (“ Hurrah! to the health of the Prince! ”) 

Mr. Tolstoy then proposed a toast to “ our good 
Stephan Stephanovitch, who received so excellent and 
unanimous a welcome in America. To his health ! It is 
he who has effected our present amicable relations with 
America, and has brought us so happily together.” 
(Cheers.) 

A gentleman next gave the health of Admiral Crabbe, 
who responded : 

“ Let us close worthily this noted day, and drink cor¬ 
dially to the health of our sovereign ; let us wish him a 
long reign, for our own happiness and for the confusion 
of our enemies.” (Unanimous and prolonged cheers.) 

Admiral Lessovsky followed. He said : 

“ Gentlemen : Allow me to tell you why success at- 


BANQUET OF THE ENGLISH CLUB. 


357 


tended us when we were in America. We found there a 
brilliant and friendly welcome prepared for us. That 
welcome we owe to the words of Prince Gortchakoff, 
who, as you all know, had refused at that time, in the 
most unmistakable terms, to intervene in the civil war in 
America, leaving entirely to the glory, the strength, and 
the wisdom of the United States Government the care of 
ending the struggle as it thought best. Such is the rea¬ 
son of the success, or of the foundation of the success, 
which our expedition met with. In every citizen we saw 
a friend, made by the words of Prince Gortchakoff. 

“ Afterward, gentlemen, these excellent judges of 
naval construction visited our ships, and saw in them the 
most splendid specimens of marine architecture.” (“ We 
believe it! ”) “ This is why, gentlemen, I ask permission 

to join with you in the expression of a universal gratitude 
and of the highest respect for the chiefs of our navy ; and 
first for his Imperial Highness the Grand-duke, who has 
endowed Russia with such magnificent ships. We had 
orders to cruise on the coast of Courland. All at once 
we received orders to make a voyage around the world. 
We did not delay for an instant, for we were provided 
with every thing necessary. I had the honor to command 
the squadron. 

“ Gentlemen, let me here say a word for our brethren, 
our brave sailors. We took our departure after the mem¬ 
orable 17th of April, the date on which, by one of the 
favors of our adored sovereign, corporal punishments 
were abolished, and, in those difficult moments which one 
experiences more or less at sea, the idea alone that I com- 


358 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


manded men whose dignity had been elevated always 
sustained me. I close with that toast which my honor¬ 
able chief, the admiral who directs the Ministry of the 
Havy, has proposed: To the Emperor, the author of our 
happiness and of our glory ! ” (“ Bravo ! Hurrah! ”) 

“ Thus this banquet,” says a St. Petersburg journal, 
“ of a character eminently Russian, given in honor of our 
American guests, began and ended with the enthusiastic 
expression of a respectful love for the father of the peo¬ 
ple, the sovereign liberator. Our guests are convinced 
once more that the ardent and boundless love of Russians 
for their country, personified in the sovereign father of 
his people, guides all our thoughts. They have had 
proof that, in manifesting their sentiments to our ven¬ 
erated and cherished monarch, they have gone right to 
the heart of the Russian nation. The demonstrations of 
which they have been the object are evidence enough of 
this.” 

On the same evening of the banquet, Mr. Oscar G. 
Sawyer, correspondent of the New-York Herald , tele¬ 
graphed to that journal the entire speech of Prince 
Gortcliakoff, at a cost of seven thousand dollars. 


CHAPTER XXY. 


IMPERIAL PRESENTS—MR. JUKOFf’s FETE—FAREWELL TO 
THE EMPEROR-PRINCE GORTCHAKOFF’s DINNER-ALEX¬ 
ANDER NEVSKY-THE ALEXANDER INSTITUTE-THE BEAU- 

HARNAIS PALACE. 

SEPTEMBER 9 th (August 28th). —On Sunday, at one 
o’clock p. m., Mr. Fox met Prince Gortchakoff, by ap¬ 
pointment, at the Foreign Office. The Prince, after va¬ 
rious complimentary allusions to the manner in which he 
had performed the delicate duties intrusted to him by his 
government, presented to him, in the name of the Em¬ 
peror, a snuffbox set with diamonds, and the card-photo¬ 
graphs of the Emperor and the Empress, with their auto¬ 
graphs on them, the latter for Mrs. Fox. 

The snuffbox, which is of gold, exquisitely chased, 
has the Emperor’s miniature 1 on the centre of the lid, sur¬ 
rounded by twenty-six diamonds. Six larger diamonds 

1 Snuffboxes are given by sovereigns, in lieu of decorations, to those who 
cannot receive the latter. There are three grades : plain gold boxes, boxes 
set with diamonds, and those having both diamonds and the sovereign’s 
miniature. The latter are given only to persons of the highest distinc- 


360 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


are set, three on each side, at equal distances from the 
inner circle. The Emperor is represented in full military 
uniform, with various orders upon his breast. 

His Excellency handed also to Mr. Eox a ring for 
Captain Murray and a similar one for Commander Beau¬ 
mont, each bearing the monogram “ A. II.” set with small 
diamonds. 

A small album, containing photographic cartes de 
visite of the Czars and Emperors of Russia, was pre¬ 
sented afterward, through Admiral Lessovsky, to each 
officer in the squadron. 

Mr. Fox gave to Prince Gortchakoff, at his request, 
copies of all the photographs of himself, taken in St. Pe¬ 
tersburg, for the Emperor and imperial family. 

At seven o’clock Mr. Fox and other of the Americans 
dined with Mr. Jukoff at his residence on the banks of 
the river, four miles below St. Petersburg. About fifty 
guests were present. Later in the evening a splendid 
fete was given in the gardens of the villa, which were 
thronged with the beauty and fashion of the capital. The 
grounds were magnificently illuminated, and every tree 
blazed with variegated fires. From the top of the house, 
all parts of which were aglow with lights, shone a star, 
whose rays were reflected in the waters of the Neva. 
The river was covered with boats, and the opposite bank 
was lined with spectators. Among the entertainments 
were national dances and singing by peasants in flat-boats 
on the water. The evening was beautiful, and the party, 
which was much enjoyed by all, did not break up until 
long after midnight. 


FAREWELL TO THE EMPEROR. 


361 


September 10 th (August 29 tli). — Monday morning 
opened with, rain, the first interruption of the pleasant 
weather for a number of weeks. At ten o’clock a. h., 
Mr. Fox went to Czarskoe-Selo, to take leave of the Em¬ 
peror and the Empress. He was accompanied by Cap¬ 
tain Murray, Commander Beaumont, and Mr. Loubat. 

At noon the party were received by their Imperial 
Majesties very cordially and without ceremony. Both 
shook hands with Mr. Fox, the Emperor repeatedly. His 
Majesty asked him how he was pleased with Russia. Mr. 
Fox replied that it would be impossible to convey to his 
countrymen, in fitting language, the feeling of sympathy 
for the United States which he had found everywhere. 
The Emperor said that he wished the President and the 
American people to know how deeply the sending of the 
mission had affected him. He saw in the Resolution of 
Congress the friendship of two great nations, and it was 
his desire to perpetuate it. He hoped that Mr. Fox would 
testify to the American people the feelings of friendship 
which he had found to exist among the Russians, and that 
he personally would carry away with him pleasing recol¬ 
lections of the country. The Empress regretted that 
Mrs. Fox had not accompanied her husband to Russia. 

During the interview, which lasted about twenty min¬ 
utes, the Emperor spoke in French, Mr. Loubat translat¬ 
ing his words into English. 

At half-past five o’clock Messrs. Fox, Clay, Loubat, 
and Curtin, Captain Murray, Commander Beaumont, 
and Mr. Sawyer, dined with Prince Gortchakoff. About 
forty were present. Mr. Clay sat on the Prince’s right 


362 


FOX'S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


and Mr. Fox on his left. There were no toasts nor 
speeches. The menu , which was printed in black on 
glazed board, was as follows: 


MEXTJ DE SOX EXCELLENCE. 

Potage Gremardot. 

Consomme aux quenelles. 

Petits pates et croquettes. 

Mayonnaise de gelinottes. 

Rosbif garni. 

Truites de Gatchina. 

Poulardes aux truffes. 

Fonds d’artichauts. 

Punch a la Romaine. 

Rots divers. 

Salade. * 

Gateau Xapolitain. 

Plombiere d’ananas. 

Le 29 Aoict, 1866. 

Alexander Michailovitch, Prince Gortchakoff—of one 
of the few princely families of Russia that descend from 
Rurik—was born in the year 1798. He was graduated at 
the Czarskoe-Selo College, and, haying chosen the diplo¬ 
matic career, first entered into the public seryice as secre¬ 
tary of the Russian embassy in London, in 1824. In 
1830 he was charge d'affaires in Florence, and the fol¬ 
lowing year he was connected with the embassy at 
Vienna. In 1841 he was enyoy extraordinary and min- 

W V 

ister plenipotentiary at the court of VTurttemberg. While 
acting in that capacity, he was instrumental in bringing 
about the marriage of the Grand-duchess Olga Vic-ho- 

c CJ 

laeyna with the Crown-Prince Carl, now King of Wiirt- 
temberg. 




£ f / 1^\ 


2 


FRIETGIE <S-©m^©IHLkI&©IFlF. 


















PRINCE GORTCHAKOEF. 


363 


In 1850 Prince Gortcliakoff was envoy extraordinary 
and minister plenipotentiary at the German Diet in 
Frankfort-on-the-Main; and in 1854, during the Crimean 
War, he succeeded Baron von Meyendorf as Russian 
ambassador at the court of Vienna, and it was owing 
chiefly to his influence that Austria maintained her neu¬ 
trality during that terrible conflict. 

In 1856 he replaced Count von Nesselrode as Minister 
of Foreign Affairs; and, a few years later, in one of his 
circulars concerning Neapolitan matters, he wrote that 
celebrated phrase, “ La Iiussie ne boude pas , elle se re- 

i 

cueilleL In 1862 he refused to accede to the proposition 
of M. Drouyn de l’Huys, Minister of Foreign Affairs of 
France, to join that country and England in an interven¬ 
tion in the internal affairs of the United States. 

In 1862 he was appointed vice-chancellor, and re¬ 
ceived the grand cross of St. Andrew in diamonds, the 
highest decoration in the gift of his sovereign. The fol¬ 
lowing year he prevented France and England from 
interfering in Polish affairs, and soon afterward became 
chancellor of the empire. In January, 1871, he de¬ 
nounced the Treaty of Paris, as far as it related to the 
neutralization of the Black Sea. His demands were ac¬ 
ceded to by the contracting powers on the 13th of March 
of the same year, and the Emperor conferred on him for 
this eminent service the rank and title of serene high¬ 
ness. 

Prince Gortchakoff still holds the position of Minister 
of Foreign Affairs, and attends to all its onerous duties, 
although now in his seventy-fifth year. Every American 


364 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


will join in the wish that he may live long to enjoy his 
honors, and to uphold the dignity of his country. 

One of his sons, Prince Michael Alexandrovitcli 
Gortchakoff, is also in the diplomatic service. He is now 
minister of Russia to Switzerland. 

On the evening of this day, Mr. Loubat received in¬ 
telligence of the sudden death of his father, near Paris. 
He therefore closed his connection with the mission at 
this point, and returned at once to France. 

September 1 lth (August 30 th ).—On Tuesday took place 
the solemn and interesting service observed yearly in the 
Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky, in memory of the 
Grand-duke Alexander, in whose honor the monastery 
was founded by Peter the Great. 

Mr. Fox had taken leave of the Emperor and of the im¬ 
perial family, and was already preparing to bring his mis¬ 
sion to a close by declining all further engagements ; but 
the importance attached to these commemorative services 
induced him to attend them. He was accompanied by 
Captain Murray and Commander Beaumont. 

The Emperor usually attends this mass, and the pres¬ 
ent occasion was no exception to the rule. He stood, at¬ 
tended by the Cezarevitch and other members of the im¬ 
perial family, in one of the transepts, beside the silver 
shrine where repose the remains of St. Alexander Nevsky. 
Opposite were the foreign ambassadors, ministers, and en¬ 
voys, and the nave was occupied by the great officers of 
the empire, and by such officials as had the entree. All 
were in court costume, and orders shone on everv breast. 


SERVICE IN ST. ALEXANDER NEVSKY’S. 


365 


Among tliis brilliant throng Mr. Fox was conspicuous for 
being the only one in citizen’s dress, wearing, as he always 
did on such occasions, an evening suit of black. Our 
naval officers were remarkable for the simplicity of their 
uniforms; the absence of cocked-hats, epaulets, and aiguil- 
lettes from their dress receiving favorable commendation 
from the Russians. 

In the Greek Church all stand, not excepting even the 
Emperor, during the service. No instrumental music is 
used in the ceremonies, nor are female voices allowed in 
the choirs, the soprano parts being taken by boys. Most 
of the prayers are intoned, and there are many recitative 
passages in the service which are sung by deep bass voices 
in a very impressive manner. 

On the present occasion, the brilliant assemblage that 
filled the cathedral added to the magnificence and im¬ 
pressiveness of the ceremonial; and when the procession 
of priests and church dignitaries, clad in their splendid 
vestments, came from the chancel through the holy door 
of the ikonastas, bringing with it the perfume of swing¬ 
ing censers, and the music from concealed voices undu¬ 
lated through the sanctuary, now loud and sonorous, now 
dying away in the dim vault above, it was not difficult to 
believe in the sincerity of the messengers of Yladimir, 
who told him that at the service which they attended in 
St. Sophia’s, in Constantinople, the angels of heaven 
mingled their voices with those of the choristers. 1 

1 When Vladimir the Great had concluded to adopt a religion for Russia, 
which was then idolatrous, he sent out ten of his boyars to examine the dif¬ 
ferent religions in the countries where they existed. On their return they 


366 


FOX’S MISSIOX TO RUSSIA. 


When the priests had withdrawn, and the last note 
of the music still vibrated in each heart, the Emperor, 
followed by the Cezarevitch and the other members of the 
imperial family, passed down the nave through the ex¬ 
pectant congregation. Every eye was upon them, for 
two men of nobler mien and form, and of greater physical 
beauty, have been rarely seen. His Majesty made a last 
gracious acknowledgment of the compliment which the 
Congress of the United States had paid him by recogniz¬ 
ing Mr. Fox as he passed. The Cezarevitch did the same, 
and the Emperor and the mission met no more. 

At eight o’clock in the evening, Mr. Fox, accompa¬ 
nied by Captain Murray, Commander Beaumont, and 
other officers, visited the Alexander Institute, a govern¬ 
ment school for young ladies, where the daughters of 
those serving the state, from the rank of colonel upward, 
are educated. This institution is the pride of St. Peters¬ 
burg, and deservedly so. The buildings are large and 
capacious and well adapted to their purpose, the teachers 
are the most capable in their respective branches that 

reported concerning the Mohammedan, the Jewish, the Roman Catholic, and 
the Greek faiths. Vladimir was pleased with the voluptuous paradise and 
lovely houris of Mohammed, but could not overcome his repugnance to cir¬ 
cumcision and the interdiction of wine. He rejected Judaism because he 
thought it neither rational to take advice from wanderers under the ban of 
Heaven, nor desirable to share their punishment. Roman Catholicism, too, 
he refused, because the Pope appeared to him to be an earthly deity, which 
he considered monstrous. But, when the messengers told how they had wit¬ 
nessed with rapturous admiration the solemnities of the Greek Church, and 
had heard the heavenly music in magnificent St. Sophia, it made a strong 
impression upon him, and in the year 989 he introduced that faith into his 
empire, and cast down all the idols. 


THE ALEXANDER INSTITUTE. 


367 


can be obtained, and tbe greatest care is taken to render 
the course of instruction, moral, mental, and physical, as 
thorough as possible. The hygienic treatment of the 
pupils, who number usually about eight hundred, must 
be as near perfection as can be attained, judging from 
the appearance of those who were seen. They were all 
healthy, and rosy in complexion, with plump necks and 
arms. The graduating class wore the Russian costume, 
the remainder calico dresses, with low necks and bare 
arms, and neat white aprons. 

Mr. Fox was received by all the officials, and by 
about three hundred of the girls, from six to sixteen 
years of age, and was presented with a large silver medal 
of the institute and a beautiful silk sofa-cushion repre¬ 
senting our national colors, the latter the work of the 
young ladies. 

While some of the younger officers were enjoying a 
dance, his Imperial Highness, the Prince of Oldenburg, 
director-general of the institute, invited Mr. Fox to 
accompany him to the other wing of the building. 
After a walk through a long arched corridor, they 
entered a room where another large body of the girls 
welcomed him with “ Hail Columbia,” singing it in Eng¬ 
lish. When the song was done, two little children, each 
scarcely more than five years of age, came forward, bear¬ 
ing between them a bouquet so large as nearly to hide 
them. They recited a few lines of poetry and then pre¬ 
sented their floral offering with a grace that would have 
done credit to maturer years. Four young girls followed 
with an album and portfolio of photographic views. Mr. 


368 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


Fox gave his card-photograph to them in return. When 
about to retire, he found himself suddenly surrounded by 
about two hundred of the budding beauties, all eagerly 
requesting a similar memento. Though flattered and 
amused by their importunities, Mr. Fox found the com¬ 
pliment too extensive to admit of the gratification of 
all their wishes. The few photographs he had were 
placed in the hands of the Prince, who with difficulty 
protected himself from the rush that was made upon 
him. 

This interesting visit, made more notable by the nov¬ 
elty of dancing in an institution from which gentlemen 
are ordinarily excluded, was much enjoyed by all who 
had the pleasure of participating in it. 

On taking leave, the directress announced to Mr. 
Fox that on the day of his departure the school would be 
assembled in the chapel and prayers would be offered to 
God for his safety. She also gave him a copy of the 
prayer of the Greek Church, in both Russian and Eng¬ 
lish, which would be used on the occasion. It is as fol¬ 
lows : 


“FROM THE RITE OF BLESSINGS ON TRAVELS. 

Let us pray to God in peace. 

Lord, be merciful to -travellers, Thy servants, by land 
and sea, forgive them all their trespasses, whether con¬ 
scious or unconscious, and bless their travelling. 

Let us pray. 

Lord, send them an angel of peace to be their com- 


THE ALEXANDER INSTITUTE. 


369 


panion, their guide, to protect, secure, and keep them al¬ 
ways out of harm’s way. 

Let us pray. 

Lord, shield them from any mischief, or inimical de¬ 
sign, and bring them home without encountering any 
evil. 

Let us pray. 

Lord, grant them a harmless, peaceful travelling, and 
a healthful return, in all godliness and honesty. 

Let us pray. 

Lord, keep them unhurt, and unsubdued by their ene¬ 
mies, whether visible or invisible; protect them from the 
malice of wicked men. 

Let us pray. 

Lord, bless their good intentions, and by Thy grace 
render these their intentions profitable to their souls and 
bodies. 

Let us pray. 

Lord, protect, save, pardon, and keep us by Thy grace. 
For Thine is the glory, the honor, and the adoration.” 

This touching episode deeply affected our envoy. He 
thanked the lady directress for her kindness, and told 
her that he should think of her and her charge when the 
hour of departure came, and should carry the remem¬ 
brance of their prayer to his home. 

September 12 th (August 31 st ).—At ten o’clock, Mr. 
Fox, Captain Murray, and Commander Beaumont, were . 
received by his Imperial Highness the Prince of Olden¬ 
burg, at his palace in the city. 

24 


370 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


Peter, Prince of Oldenburg, is the son of the late 
Prince Peter of Oldenburg, and of Catharine Paulovna, 
daughter of the Emperor Paul. He is, therefore, the 
cousin of the present Emperor. He is a general of infan¬ 
try, and has the charge (under the direction of her Ma¬ 
jesty the Empress) of the charitable and educational insti¬ 
tutions of the empire. 

At eleven o’clock the Topographical Bureau of the 
War Department was visited. The maps and plans of 
the chief public works of the empire were shown, and 
briefly explained to Mr. Fox. Of especial interest was 
the contemplated canal of Peter the Great, to connect the 
Volga, which empties into the Caspian, with the Don, 
which flows into the Black Sea. At one point these 
rivers approach each other within about one hundred and 
twenty-five miles. The Caspian Sea is eighty-two feet 
below the Mediterreanan, and receives the flow of other 
streams than the Volga, but the waters disappear by 
enormous evaporation. 

One of the most beautiful palaces in this city of su¬ 
perb structures is that occupied by her Imperial Highness 
the Grand-duchess Marie, whose first husband was Maxi¬ 
milian, Duke of Leuclitenberg, the son of Eugene de 
Beauharnais. 

It is especially noted for its fine collection of paint- 
ings by Greuze, and a room where are preserved numer¬ 
ous memorials of the first Napoleon, and a few which 
.belonged to Prince Eugene. The tent which the Em¬ 
peror used in Egypt, the cimeter he wore at Marengo, 
and the cross of the Legion of Honor, which was on his 


THE LEUCHTENBERG PALACE. 


371 


breast when he died, are among the relics. One of the 
most touching souvenirs of the days that aroused France 
to military glory is the sword which belonged to General 
Alexander de Beauharnais, of which he was deprived at 
the disarming of the sections in Paris, subsequent to the 
Thirteenth Yendemiaire, and which Bonaparte restored to 
his son Eugene, then a lad of fourteen. The impression 
made upon the heart of the young commander of Paris 
by Madame de Beauharnais, when she called to thank 

him for his kindness, resulted in their marriage a few 

« 

months later, on the eve of his departure to take com¬ 
mand of the army of Italy. 

The Grand-duchess Marie had departed for Germany 
at the time of Mr. Fox’s visit, but she ordered the palace 
to be shown to him, and sent her young son to point out 
all the objects of interest. Before his departure, the 
envoy of Congress was requested to leave his photograph, 
which was placed among the other relics in the Napoleon 


room. 


CHAPTER XXYI. 


RIFLED GUNS AND TARGETS—TIIE COMMEMORATIVE CHAPEL 
—CRONSTADT CITIZENSHIP—FAREWELL BREAKFAST—PEAS¬ 
ANT DEPUTATION—THE EMANCIPATION MEDAL—THE DE¬ 
PARTURE. 

SEPTEMBER Y&tK (1st).—Thursday opened with 
fine weather. In the morning Mr. Fox and a num¬ 
ber of the officers visited the practice-ground of the army 
and navy, examined the targets, the rifled steel guns, and 
the models, and witnessed firing from an eight-inch 
breech-loading rifle. 

Four-and-a-half-inch iron plates were shown that were 
penetrated by shot from this gun at seventeen hundred 
yards; and at eight hundred yards five one-inch plates 
were pierced, and a nine-inch plate behind them was 
broken. The guns are rifled on the Prussian system, and 
the shot, chilled-pointed, are coated with lead. Large 
honey-combed cakes of powder equal to a charge, and 
placed in a cartridge, are used, an initial velocity of thir¬ 
teen hundred yards being insisted on. 

The following table will show the size and weight of 


RIFLED GUNS. 


373 


the different breech-loaders in use, and the weight of the 
several charges of large powder and of the shot: 


Calibre in 

Weight in 

Weight in 

Powder, 

Solid shot, 

inches. 

poods. 

pounds. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

9 

760 

27,360 

35 

300 

8 

488 

17,568 

31.5 

200 

6 

235 

3,420 

16 

95 

For boats, 3.42 

18 

648 

1.5 

14 


The grounds are well adapted for experimental use. 
They admit of an extreme range of four miles. 

In the afternoon, his Imperial Highness the Prince of 
Oldenburg called on the envoy of Congress at the Hotel 
de France. 

Mr. Fox had been invited to dine with the Grand- 
duchess Catherine, but, her presence being required at 
the laying of the corner-stone of the chapel, to be built 
on the spot where the attempt on the Emperor’s life was 
made, the party had to be given up. 

The Invalide Busse, of the same date, gave the fol¬ 
lowing account of the ceremony of the founding of this 
chapel, dedicated to St. Alexander Nevsky, the Emperor’s 
namesake: 

“ On the 1st of September, at four o’clock in the 
afternoon, an immense crowd assembled at the Summer 
Garden, filling all the space around, to witness the lay¬ 
ing of the corner-stone of the chapel, on the very spot 
where the life of the great sovereign liberator was, by the 
will of Providence, saved by the hand of an enfranchised 
peasant. It is well known how much the Russian people 
have ever been devoted to their sovereigns; it is well 
known how much Russia has always honored and pro- 


374 


FOX’S MISSIOX TO RUSSIA. 


foundly loved her noble Emperor; but, after the odious 
attempt of the 4th of April, this love and this devo¬ 
tion have increased, if that is possible. All the in¬ 
habitants of the capital wished to aid in the laying of 
the corner-stone of the chapel of the Summer Garden, 
and the garden itself and all the neighboring places were 
filled. 

“ The Emperor had assisted on the same day at the 
inauguration of the canal from Ladoga to Schlusselbourg, 
and this is the reason why the ceremony was postponed 
from four o’clock to half-past four of the afternoon. 
Around the place marked for the construction of the 
chapel, seats had been aranged for the public, but those 
who could not find place there had mounted, for the 
purpose of seeing, the trees, the parapet of the Neva, 
everywhere, in a word, where there was any possibil¬ 
ity of hoisting themselves. The space which sepa¬ 
rates the Summer Garden from the steamboat-landing, 
decorated with flowers and evergreens, was reserved 
for the suite of the Emperor and for the dignitaries who 
were to take part in the ceremony. At half-past four 
precisely the Emperor arrived in a cutter at the land¬ 
ing, and went immediately to the tent, where his Emi¬ 
nence the Metropolitan Isidore awaited him with the 
clergy. 

“ After the Te Deum and the prayer for long life for 
the Emperor, his Majesty laid the first stone, and after 
him the other members of the imperial family laid some 
bricks. Mr. Komissaroff-Kostromsky assisted at the cere¬ 
mony, and every one remarked the fervor with which this 


ADMIRAL NOVOSSILSKY’S BALL. 


375 


man prayed, on whom fell the lot to perform so grand 
a deed. During the whole continuance of the ceremony, 
the immense crowd 'which witnessed it preserved a re¬ 
ligious silence ; every one felt the importance of the event 
of which the monument to be erected will perpetuate the 
memory. But when, the ceremony ended, the Emperor 
went to his carriage, the people saluted him with loud 
and long hurrahs.” 

At four o’clock p. m. Mr. Fox left St. Petersburg and 
went on board the Augusta, at Cronstadt. At night a 
ball was given by Admiral Novossilsky, in the Cronstadt 
City Hall. It was a brilliant affair, and much enjoyed 
by all who attended. The guests were almost entirely 
officers of the navy, and their families. Dancing was 
kept up until one o’clock, when there was a supper, with 
speeches and toasts. Admiral Hovossilsky toasted the 
Americans, and Mr. Fox returned the compliment. 
After supper, dancing was resumed, and continued until 
four o’clock, when the assembly broke up. 

September 14 th (2rl ).—An unpleasant, rainy day. 
Mr. Fox went up to St. Petersburg to make some final 
arrangements for leaving. As the official departure had 
already taken place, there were no calls, excepting a few 
on special business. Many books and other presents were 
sent to the hotel. 

Notwithstanding the bad weather, the excursion- 
steamers, which had been running to the Miantonomoh 
almost daily since her arrival, still went down filled with 
people. A number of Americans from Moscow, and 


376 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


other places in the interior, also went aboard and made 
themselves happy under the stars and stripes. 

In the afternoon, a deputation from the city govern¬ 
ment of Cronstadt waited on Mr. Fox, on board of the 
Augusta, and announced that his Majesty the Emperor 
had accorded his assent to the petition of the Merchants’ 
Association of Cronstadt, that the title of honorary citizen 
should be conferred on him. They then presented to him 
the diploma, handsomely engrossed, within an ornamental 
border, on heavy Bristol board, twenty-four by nineteen 
inches in size, and enclosed in a rich portfolio of Russia 
leather. In the centre of the border, at the top, is a 
representation of the statue of Peter the Great at the 
Petrovsky landing in Cronstadt; on the left is a bust 
of Peter the Great, with commercial maritime emblems 
beneath it, and at the bottom a view in the city—the 
City Hall and public square ; on the right is a bust 
of Alexander II., with naval emblems under it, and 
below a view of Fort St. Paul. In the centre, at the 
bottom, are the arms of the city of Cronstadt. 

The inscription is in Russian. It reads, in English, 
as follows: 

“ The Corporation of the Town and Port of Cronstadt, 
with the sanction of his Imperial Majesty, have conferred 
on the Honorable G. Y. Fox, Envoy Extraordinary of 
the Congress of the United States of America, and Mem¬ 
ber of the Washington Cabinet, the Honorary Citizenship 
of the Town and Port of Cronstadt, as a mark of the 
high esteem of one of the Towns of Russia for the great 
American Ration, which has empowered its Envoy to 


A FAREWELL BREAKFAST. 377 

express to 0111 * great Emperor the sympathy of all the 
American people. 


(Signed) F. Stephanoff, Mayor. 

W. IvUDRIAVZOFF, 

W. Routine, 

M. Semgin, 

P. Ershoff, 

P. Schakoff, Secretary 


Members 
1- of the 
Town Council. 


September 15 th (3d ).—Saturday morning was cloudy, 
with light rain. At nine o’clock in the morning Mr. Fox 
took his final departure from St. Petersburg, and went 
down to the squadron in a steam-yacht. 

At eleven o’clock a farewell breakfast was given to 
the mission by Admiral Crabbe, on his yacht Furik. 
Besides Mr. Fox, there were present, of the Americans, 
Captain Murray, Commander Beaumont, and Mr. Cur¬ 
tin, the latter having come down from St. Petersburg 
to see the ships off. Among the Russian guests were 
Admiral Rovossilsky, Lieutenant-General Greig, Prince 
Galitzine, and Rear-Admirals Baron Taube, Popoff, Izil- 
mentieff, and Lessovsky, and the most of the gentle¬ 
men who took part directly in the reception of the Ameri¬ 
cans. 

Fortunately, the weather cleared, and the sun came 
out bright about eleven o’clock. At this time the harbor 
presented almost as animated an appearance as on the 
day of the squadron’s arrival. The waters were covered 
with sailing-yachts and other light craft, and the Rurik 




378 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


and the American ships were surrounded by steamboats 
loaded with people, who had come down to witness the 
departure. 

The Burik was gayly decked with the flags of both 
nations. The tables were set on the poop-deck, which 
was covered with an awning hung with the Bussian and 
the American colors. Flowers were in profusion every¬ 
where, and a band played the national.airs. 

The company sat down at noon. As soon as the 
champagne came on, Admiral Crabbe arose and said : 

“You remember, gentlemen, with what attention and 
enthusiasm we followed the news of the reception in 
America of Admirals Lessovsky and Popoff. At last 
Heaven has allowed us to thank our dear guests per¬ 
sonally for their hospitality. I deem it superfluous to 
speak of the friendship and the sympathy of the two 
great nations, for my words would be like drops added to 
an overflowing cup. 

“We had the good fortune to be the first to receive our 
dear guests, to shake their hands, and to thank them for 
their visit. True feelings have no need of many words, 
and therefore I limit myself to wishing for the great 
country of our dear guests happiness and success in its 
social development, as well as a continued triumph over 
its enemies at home and abroad. Let us wish them a 
happy voyage, and ask them not to forget that our nation 
knows how to esteem all that is truly great and elevated. 

“ I shall close by proposing a toast that will answer 
all our wishes—to the health of our sincere friend, the 
Honorable G-. V. Fox, to the health of those true sons of 


A FAREWELL BREAKFAST. 


3T9 


the sea, Captain Murray and Commander Beaumont, and 
to all their brave companions who leave us to-day. Let 
us give, gentlemen, a hearty Russian cheer in honor of 
our dear guests.” 

The whole company arose, and, crowding around the 
Americans, touched glasses with them, and gave them a 
round of hearty cheers. When order was again restored. 
Admiral Crabbe continued: 

“ The reception of our dear guests has been put into 
good and worthy hands. I propose a toast to Admiral 
Novossilsky.” 

Admiral Lessovsky reminded Mr. Fox that now, one 
o’clock, prayers for the safety of the Americans on their 
voyage home were chanting in the Alexander Institute, 
at which our envoy was visibly affected. Of all the evi¬ 
dences of sympathy and of good-will received during the 
sojourn of the embassy in Russia, this act of the young 
ladies of this noble school was one of the most touching. 

After toasts to Admiral Crabbe and to Admiral Les¬ 
sovsky, and the gentlemen wdio aided in the reception and 
entertainment of the Americans, Mr. Fox arose and 
said: 

“ Until this moment I thought that my heart was as 
firm as the ice that in winter covers the waters of the 
Neva, and, like that, reflected the warmth that fell upon 
it. But now, in these last moments, the affectionate es¬ 
teem of my Russian friends overcomes me. Words fail 
to reach my lips. The kindness which surrounds me dis¬ 
solves my heart. To Russia and our Russian friends! 
Farewell! ” 


380 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


Out of respect to the depth of feeling which inspired 
this sentiment, the company drank in silence. 

At this moment a boat came alongside, bringing a 
deputation of peasants from the city of Tcherepovets, in 
the government of Novgorod, situated more than four 
hundred miles beyond the railroad. They presented Mr. 
Fox with bread and salt in basins of ornamented wood, 
and a bouquet of flowers, and tendered him the congratu¬ 
lations of their fellow-citizens. The leader of the deputa¬ 
tion made a brief address, in which he said that Tcherepo¬ 
vets, a small city of Great Russia, thanked Mr. Fox for the 
words of sympathy and respect which he offered to Rus¬ 
sia’s sovereign and benefactor, from the great Republic on 
the other side of the ocean. 

Mr. Fox answered: “ Gentlemen, that ocean was 
formed by the aggregation of drops, like this vast empire 
which has arisen from the consolidation of communities, 
whose peasant representatives are now before me. As 
the sun stands in the centre of the universe, the concen¬ 
tration of force and the source of light and of warmth, 
so is the sovereign benefactor of Russia to the millions 
whom he has lifted from serfdom to manhood.” 

Mr. Fox’s remarks were received with cheers, and, al¬ 
though no toast was given, the whole company drank to 
the Emperor’s health. 

In presenting the bread to Mr. Fox, the deputation re¬ 
marked that it was baked in Tcherepovets, and called his 
attention to its singular elasticity, it resuming its proper 
form at once when pressed down. 

“ This bread,” remarked Mr. Fox, “like liberty, may 


A FAREWELL BREAKFAST. 


3S1 


sink for a moment under pressure, but immediately rises 
again.” 

Captain Murray then gave a toast to tlie Grand-Ad¬ 
miral of the Russian Havy, the Grand-duke Constantine 
Hickolaevitck ; and Commander Beaumont followed with 
one to the health of her Imperial Highness the Grand- 
duchess Alexandra Josefovna. A telegraphic dispatch 
was at once sent to the Grand-duke, who was at Odessa, 
apprising him of the toast. 

At the close of the breakfast, Lieutenant - General 
Greig presented, with appropriate remarks, to Mr. Fox 
and to Captain Murray and Commander Beaumont, cop¬ 
ies of the medal struck to commemorate the emancipation 
edict. 

General Greig spoke as follows, in the English lan¬ 
guage : 

“ Less happy than the most of the gentlemen here 
present, I have not had the opportunity of meeting often 
with the eminent statesman and good man par excellence , 
the envoy of the American Congress, with his worthy 
companions here who accompanied him in his mission 
unprecedented in history, nor with our other American 
guests; but what I have seen of them makes me sincerely 
regret that I have not met them oftener, and known 
them better. 

“ But, if I was not among the first who received them 
on their arrival in Russia, I can congratulate myself at 
least that I am among the number of the last, met to¬ 
day, to wish them a happy return to their distant country. 
For that I have used all my efforts, yet I do not take to 


382 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


myself any praise for it, for, though occupied as I am, 
the sun that gives light and life to the universe is incom¬ 
parably busier than I am ; however, the sun himself, our 
Russian sun, has pierced the fog, has driven away the 
rain, and has shown himself in all his brightness to send 
a compliment and a smile of adieu to our friends who 
are going far away from us. 

“ I have said that I have seen little of our guests, but 
I have heard them much spoken of, which, having ears, I 
could not help, for the names of Fox, Murray, and Beau¬ 
mont, are pronounced by millions and millions of people, 
from our rich capitals to the utmost corners of our vast 
territory. Their remembrance, for a long time, a very 
long time, should live among us. I hope and desire that 
they also will remember all they have seen, all they have 
heard, and all they have thought, during their stay in 
Russia, in looking at our life at home. They will take 
away many solid tokens of remembrance which will re¬ 
call Russia to their minds; but I wish to add another 
token yet, the last in point of time, but not the last in its 
significance. 

“ The friendship of the two nations, and the feelings 
that they have toward each other, astonish the world, 
which, reflecting, seeks the reason of this incomprehensi¬ 
ble phenomenon. The name of this reason is legion. 
But it cannot be questioned that, among the causes to 
which is due this mutual spirit, is the great event which 
has been accomplished almost simultaneously in the two 
countries—there by a sanguinary struggle, here by the 
path of peace. The token I have presented to Mr. Fox 


I 


A FAREWELL BREAKFAST. 383 

is the medal struck in memory of the enfranchisement of 
the peasants. In my official position I should have pre¬ 
sented it sooner if he had visited the Mint. But I am 
happy that Fortune has willed that I should present this 
medal at the last moments of his stay in Russia. He will 
see on it the likeness of our blessed sovereign, and the 
effigy of a nobleman and of a peasant. Always friends, 
the sovereign, the nobility, and the people, have equally 
and unanimously expressed the feelings which Russia 
sincerely and cordially entertains for you. 

“ United —a word that forms a part of the name by 
which you are known among the nations of the world— 
will always be your glory and your strength, because 
strength lies in union. May the union of your States 
and the union of the great Republic of the West and the 
great Empire of the East be strong and eternal! ” 

This was the last of the many complimentary ad¬ 
dresses delivered to the mission while in Russia, and this 
breakfast terminated the long series of demonstrations of 
which both parties will retain a lasting remembrance. 

The commemorative medal presented to Mr. Fox was 
of gold, of the weight of three-quarters of a pound. 
Those given to Captain Murray and Commander Beau¬ 
mont were of silver, of the same size and design. 

Mr. Fox went on board of the Augusta shortly after 
four o’clock. As he left the Rurik, that vessel saluted 
him with seventeen guns, to which the Augusta replied. 
The squadron got under way at once, and left the port 
under escort of a number of Russian ships in the follow- 


384 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


ing order: the monitor Perun, the double-cupola iron¬ 
clad Smertch, the steam-frigate Khrabry, the steam-yacht 
Rurik, the frigate Svietlana, and last the Augusta and 
the Miantonomoh. Steamboats, with passengers and 
bands of music, and many sailing-craft, accompanied them 
out of the roadstead. National salutes thundered from 
the forts, our vessels replied, the flags were cheered, and, 
accompanied by music and parting hurrahs, the squadron 
steamed out into the Gulf of Finland. 

At seven o’clock in the evening, after a display of 
fireworks on the Russian ships, which was answered by 
the Augusta, Admiral Crabbe bade farewell, and, order¬ 
ing the Svietlana and the Khrabry to see the Americans 
safely out of the Gulf of Finland, took his departure in 
the Rurik. 

Mr. Fox found on board of the Augusta a note from 
Admiral Novossilsky, and a picture of our Saviour, pre¬ 
sented, as the admiral wrote, by a peasant named Michael 
Masieff, who had bought it from the savings of his daily 
labor, and who desired to have it sent to the American 
envoy as an expression of his feelings toward the nation 
that had sympathized with his Emperor. 

This chapter cannot conclude better than in the words 
of Mr. Fox himself, who, in a dispatch to Secretary 
Welles, thus summed up the results of his mission : 

“ Rear-Admiral Lessovsky and the officers associated 
with him were unremitting in their attentions, and faith¬ 
fully observed the instructions of the Emperor to see that 
we received a ‘ Russian welcome.’ But the striking feat¬ 
ure ot our visit was the spontaneous reception everywhere 


SUMMARY. 


385 


accorded to us by the people themselves. From the most 
remote parts of the empire, telegrams were sent welcom¬ 
ing us, and expressing the most grateful feelings toward 
the people of the United States. 

“ The first toast at entertainments was to the Presi¬ 
dent of the United States, Mr. Johnson, and his picture, 
with Washington’s and Lincoln’s, usually graced every 
assembly. 

“ The speeches were friendly, appropriate, and full of 
feeling. The flag of the United States has been shown, 
and honored, for a thousand miles in the interior of Rus¬ 
sia, and our national airs have become familiar to her 
people. 

“ The Emperor reviewed his troops, alternating the 
music of the two empires as the cloud of Cossacks swept 
past in a charge. 

“If nations require friends, and must lean toward 
each other like individuals, here are eighty millions of 
people, one race, one language, and a unit in their feel¬ 
ings of friendship for the United States. 

“ The present Emperor has conferred upon them eman¬ 
cipation, liberty of the press, abolishment of the knout, 
local self-government, and trial by jury. Under these 
wise measures, the empire begins to feel that conscious 
strength which springs from national unity resting upon 
the diffusion of light and power, to all classes. 

u The unprecedented distinction conferred upon a for¬ 
eigner, in electing him an honorary citizen, by permission 
of the Emperor, of St. Petersburg, Cronstadt, Moscow, 

Kortclieva, and Kostroma; the unanimous welcome given 
25 


386 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


to us by all classes, and the unusual reception extended to 
the officers and crew, by making the former without pref¬ 
erence guests of the government, are due chiefly to the 
friendly action of Congress in passing the resolution of 
sympathy, and to the government in sending an official to 
Russia in a squadron of armed ships to deliver it.” 


CHAPTER XXVII. 


IN THE BALTIC—THE APPROACH TO STOCKHOLM—OFFICIAL 

COURTESIES—GUSTAYUS III.-SKOKLOSTER—JEFFERSON- 

PRESENTATION AT COURT—ROYAL VISIT TO THE SHIPS— 
THE DJURGARD. 

SEPTEMBER 1 6th (4 th ).—Sunday morning opened 
with light southerly winds, and fine weather. The two 
Russian men-of-war were still in company with the squad¬ 
ron. At noon the ships were off Kail Baden light, which 
was distant about six miles. The day ended with fresh 
breezes from the west-southwest, and with a drizzling 
rain. 

September 17 th (6th ).—Fresh breezes from the west- 
southwest continued, with rain and a rough sea. At 
seven o’clock a. m. the Svietlana' and the Khrabry each 
fired a national salute of twenty-one guns, and afterward 
a personal salute of seventeen guns, which were answered 
by the Augusta. They then cheered our ships, and 
parted company with them. 

At a quarter before seven o’clock in the evening, the 


388 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


Augusta and Miantonomoh entered the Sandham Passage 
to Stockholm, and anchored for the night. 


September 18 th .—The approach to Stockholm from 
the Baltic is very striking and beautiful, unexcelled 
probably by any similar view in the world. The city is 
situated at the end of a magnificent tjord or arm of the 
sea, thirty-six miles from the open water, following the 
channels, or twenty-four miles in an air-line. The Skaen- 
gard, as the fjord is called, is more properly an archipel¬ 
ago indented into the land. Its course from the Baltic 
up is dotted with islands, among which the channel 
winds, revealing new beauties at every turn. Main-land 
and islands frown with rugged cliffs of granite and por¬ 
phyry, against a background of oaks and pines. Some¬ 
times crags and forests extend for miles with no signs of 
habitation save an occasional fisherman’s hut, and then 
come grassy slopes, and beautiful villas, with gardens 
stretching to the water’s edo-e. 

As the ships steamed through the archipelago, new sur¬ 
prises met the eye in every direction. Crags and forest, 
green knolls and deep-cleft glens, alternated with endless 
variety, framed with the blue waters of the fjord. ISow 
and then, heavy luggers, fishing-smacks, and hay-boats, 
passed, and pretty sail-boats, filled with ladies and gentle¬ 
men, flitted in and out among the islands. ^Nearer the 
city, the water appeared alive with sails and steamers, 
and soon, from the cloud of smoke which overhung- the 
horizon, steeples and towers, and the great palace, broke 
in shadowy outline, and then Stockholm burst into view, 


STOCKHOLM. 


389 


with its splendid natural surroundings, its terraced 
heights, its hills crowned with trees, its gardens sloping 
to the Malar, and all the moving panorama on the inter¬ 
secting waters. 

Stockholm has been called the Venice of the North ; 
and there is much about it to suggest a resemblance. 
The city, built at the junction of the Malar Lake with the 
Sksengard, is a maze of island, bridge, and water. The 
central island, which is the commercial quarter, is the 
site of the ancient city. The others are offshoots over 
which the growing town gradually extended, and became 
connected by bridges. 

Stockholm (Pile Island) derives its name from the 
fact that a portion of the old city is built upon a founda- 
dation of piles. It has three principal divisions: the 
Stad, or original city; the Norrmalm, or northern sub¬ 
urb ; and the Sodermalm, or southern suburb. In the 
Stad, which is the commercial quarter, the streets are 
mostly narrow and crooked. The Norrmalm is the fash¬ 
ionable quarter; in it are the residences of the nobility, 
and the wealthy classes, and its streets are laid out with 
modern symmetry and elegance. The Sodermalm rises 
from the water in a series of rocky terraces upon a high 
cliff, overlooking the harbor. It also is modern built, and 
it is the site of many large manufactories, principally of 
woollen, linen, cotton, and silk fabrics. Opposite the 
palace is the navy-yard, on an island called Skeppsholm 
(Ship Island). A squadron of gunboats is usually sta¬ 
tioned here. On the landward side, Stockholm is unde¬ 
fended, but it is supposed to be impregnable on the 


390 


FOX'S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


seaward side, its approaches being covered by the strong 
fortress of Waxholm. 

The Augusta and the Miantomonoh anchored off the 
city early in the morning. Their arrival created as mnc-h 
interest as it had done elsewhere, and the monitor was 
soon surrounded by numbers of boats. 

Mr. Fox at once paid his respects to the United 
States minister at the court of Sweden, the Honorable 
James EL Campbell; and afterward called upon Rear- 
Admiral Lilliehook ; upon the Minister of Foreign 
Affairs. Count Manderstrom : and upon the Russian 
minister at the court of Sweden, the Priw-Councillor 
Daschkoff. 

The remainder of the day was spent in visiting vari¬ 
ous objects of interest in the city, among which was the 
" Exposition of Scandinavian Products.” an exhibition il¬ 
lustrative of the agricultural and mechanical indnstrv of 
Denmark, Sweden. Xorway. and Finland. 

Stpt'i \ler 19//;.—Wednesday opened bright and clear. 
In the morning the Russian minister and his family, and 
the family of Count Manderstrom. visited the Miantono- 
moli. in company with Mr. Fox. 

The evening was spent at the opera-house, where *• R 
Trovatore ” was sung. This is the oldest opera-house in 
Europe, having been built by Gustavus EH., in 1752. and 
is the same building in which he was assassinated ten 
years later, by Ankarstrom. the instrument of a conspir¬ 
acy of disaffected nobles. 

The King received notice of the designs of his ene- 


GUSTAVUS III. 


391 


mies, but paid no heed to it. On the evening of 
the 16th of March, 1792, while his hair-dresser was 
arranging his coiifure, preparatory to going to a bal- 
masque , to be held that night at the opera-house, he 
received a letter of warning. Gustavus read it, and 
handed it to his secretary, Baron Bjelke, asking him 
what he thought of it. Bjelke, who was in the con¬ 
spiracy, replied : 

“ Sire, this letter has been written to frighten you.” 

“ Frighten me ! ” cried the King, springing up. “ I 
would like to see the man who can do that.” 

Regardless of the letter, he went to the ball. As soon 
as the conspirators saw their opportunity, they crowded 
around him, and separated him from his attendants, when 
Ankarstrom stepped up and touched him on the shoulder. 
As the King turned to see who had accosted him, the as¬ 
sassin discharged an air-pistol into his side. 1 

They carried him bleeding to a little room on the first 
floor, whence he was borne to the palace, where he lay in 
agony for thirteen days before death came to his relief. 
In the Kladskammar, the museum where are preserved 
the relics of Sweden’s royalties, is shown the masquerade 
dress he wore that night, a suit of gray silk, a black-silk 
domino, and a black beaver with white plume ; and with 
it is the shirt, stained with blood, just as it was taken from 
his body. 

Gustavus III. was the first European monarch to vol¬ 
unteer the recognition of the independence of the Amer¬ 
ican colonies. 

1 Verdi’s opera, “ Un Balio in Maschera,” is founded on this theme. 


392 


FOX'S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


September 20 th .—Rain fell on Thursday morning, and 
continued at intervals through the day. At ten o’clock, 
by invitation of the naval officials, Mr. Fox and several 
officers -went by steamboat up the Malar Lake, about 
thirty-six miles, to visit Skokloster, the chateau built by 
the celebrated Count Carl Gustaf von "Wrangel, now be¬ 
longing to the Brahe family, lineal descendants of Tycho 
Brahe, the great astronomer. It fell to them by mar¬ 
riage with the "Wrangels. It is a quadrangular structure, 
with high octagonal towers at each corner, on a most ro¬ 
mantic site, amid a grove of pine, on the shores of the 
lake, the placid waters of which it overlooks. The origi¬ 
nal building, founded in the last of the thirteenth cen¬ 
tury, was a convent, presided over by an abbess. It was 
burned about two hundred years after. The present 
structure is comparatively modern, dating from the early 
part of the seventeenth century. 

Several hours were spent in examining the collection 
of arms and armor, and other curiosities, which are of 
great historical interest. There are many portraits of 
celebrated Swedes and of members of the familv, amono; 
the latter one of Tycho Brahe. The library contains 
about twenty-five thousand volumes and many rare man¬ 
uscripts. 

On the return, dinner was served on the steamer, and 
speeches and friendly sentiments made the afternoon pass 
rapidly. Toward evening the weather partially cleared. 
As the boat passed the residence of Mr. Frestadius, the 
American consul at Stockholm, situated on a point of 
land projecting into the lake, the grounds were illumi- 


THE DAYS OF JEFFERSON. 


393 


nated. The effect of the many-colored lights among the 
trees was very beautiful. 

Among the Swedish officers who accompanied the 
Americans to Skokloster, was Commodore Adlersparre, 
Assistant-Minister of the Navy and member of the Cham¬ 
ber of Nobles. In his youth he served in the United 
States Navy, and he was a shipmate of Mr. Fox’s on the 
corvette Cyane in 1838, ’39, and ’40. To him Mr. Fox 
and the American officers were indebted for many polite 
attentions during their stay in Stockholm. 

September 21 st .—Friday brought more rain. Another 
visit was made to the Exposition, where, among many 
other interesting objects, a singular breech-loading gun 
attracted the attention of our officers. 

Mr. Fox and several other gentlemen lunched with 
the American consul. About thirty persons were pres¬ 
ent. The occasion was enlivened by speeches and 
toasts. 

At five o’clock Mr. Fox dined with the Russian min¬ 
ister at the court of Sweden, Mr. Daschkoff. The din¬ 
ner was elegant in all its appointments, the table-service 
being of silver gilt. 

The envoy of Congress had the honor of handing in 
to the dining-room the mother of Mr. Daschkoff, who 
remarked, as she took Mr. Fox’s arm, “I was the wife 
of the Russian minister to your country in the days 
of Jefferson.” It was to this minister that Mr. Jef¬ 
ferson wrote a letter, of which the following is an ex¬ 
tract : 


394 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


“Honticello, August 12, 1809. 

“Ser: Your favor of July 5th has been duly received, 
and, in it, that of my friend Mr. Short. I congratulate 
you on your safe arrival in the American hemisphere, 
after a voyage which must have been lengthy in time as 
it was in space. I hope you may experience no un¬ 
favorable change in your health in so great a change 
of climate, and that our fervid sun may be found as 
innocent as our cloudless skies must be agreeable. I 
hail you with particular pleasure, as the first harbinger 
of those friendly relations with your country, so desira¬ 
ble to us. Both nations being in character and practice 
essentially pacific, a common interest in the rights of 
peaceable nations gives us a common cause in their main¬ 
tenance.” 

Mr. Daschkoff was minister from Russia to the United 
States from 1809 to 1819. 

September 22 d .—Saturday was cloudy, but no rain fell. 
In the morning, Mr. Fox, Captain Murray, and Com¬ 
mander Beaumont, had the honor of a formal presentation 
to the Ring, at the Royal Palace in the city, through the 
American minister, Mr. Campbell. His Majesty wore a 
gray morning-suit, with a frock-coat, having just come 
in from the country. 

^ Charles XY., Louis Eugene, King of Sweden and 
Norway, of the Goths and the Wends, born May 3, 1826, 
succeeded his father, King Oscar I., July 8, 1859. He 
was married, June 19, 1850, to Wilhelmine Frederique 
Alexandrine Anne Louise, Princess of Orange, born Au- 




















ROYAL FAMILY OF SWEDEN. 


395 


gust 5, 1828, tlie daughter of William Frederick, Prince 
of the Netherlands. She died March 30, 1871; and he 
died September 18,1872. The sole issue of this marriage 
was the Princess Louise Josephine Eugenie, born October 
31, 1851; married, July 28, 1869, to Christian Frederick 
William Charles, Prince Royal of Denmark. 

Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, Marshal of the French 
Empire, Prince of Ponte Corvo, the founder of the pres¬ 
ent royal family of Sweden, was born January 26, 1764, 
at Pau, in Southern France. He married, in 1798, Eu¬ 
genie Bernhardine Desiree Clary, daughter of a wealthy 
merchant of Marseilles, and sister of Madame Joseph 
Bonaparte. By this marriage he had one son only, Jo¬ 
seph Frangois Oscar, born in Paris, July 4, 1799. His 
name, Oscar, was chosen as a compliment to Napoleon, 
who became his godfather on his return from Egypt, from 
one of the heroes of his favorite Ossian. 

Bernadotte was elected Crown-Prince of Sweden and 
Norway, August 21, 1810. Charles XIII., the last of 
the line of Yasa, died February 5, 1818, and Bernadotte 
was crowned on the 11th of May following, under the 
title of Charles XIY. John. 

After a wise administration of twenty-six years, dur¬ 
ing which the public and private credit of his adopted 
country was restored, he died, and was succeeded by his 
son, March 8, 1844. 

Oscar I. married, June 19, 1823, Josephine Maximi- 
lienne Eugenie Napoleone, daughter of Prince Eugene 
Beauharnais and of his wife, the Princess Augusta Ame¬ 
lia, daughter of Maximilian I., Ring of Bavaria. 


396 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


They had the following children : 

1. Charles Louis Eugene, horn May 3,1826 ; King of 
Sweden at the time of Mr. Fox’s visit. 

2. Francois Gustave Oscar, born June 18, 1827; died 
young. 

3. Oscar Frederic, born January 21, 1829 ; married, 
June 6, 1857, Sophia Wilhelmine Marianne Henrietta, 
daughter of William, Duke of Nassau. His brother, 
Charles XY., dying without male issue, he succeeded him 
as Oscar II. He has four sons. 

4. Charlotte Eugenie Augusta Amelia Albertine, born 
April 24, 1830. 

5. Nicholas Augustus, born August 24,1831; married, 
April 16, 1864, Theresa Amelia Caroline Josephine An¬ 
toinette, Duchess of Saxe, daughter of the late Edward, 
Prince of Saxe-Altenburg. 

In the interview with Mr. Fox, his Majesty spoke of 
the great revenues of the United States Government, 
which had increased so enormously within a compara¬ 
tively short period. Mr. Fox replied that he looked upon 
the fact as a national calamity. 

“ Why so ? ” asked the King. 

“Because,” replied Mr. Fox, “we have every reason 
to fear that our government will become extravagant in 
consequence, to be follow T ed by corruption and a decline 
of public morals.” 

“ My country will never suffer in that way,” rejoined 
his Majesty, with a smile. 

The great palace, where the presentation took place, 


THE KING ON THE MONITOR. 


397 


stands upon an eminence in the central island of the city. 
Its massive walls, which rise above all the surrounding 
buildings, are among the first objects to catch the eye on 
approaching Stockholm from the Baltic. It is in the 
Italian style, and forms a regular quadrangle flanked by 
handsome wings on the east and west. The lower story 
is of granite, the rest of brick faced with sandstone. It 
was built about the middle of the last century by the 
younger Tessin, from designs by his father. 

On the east side the palace-hill slopes down to the 
water, forming a broad, open space, where the troops 
parade. At the top is a granite obelisk one hundred feet 
high, and at the foot of the incline on the quay stands 
the splendid bronze statue of Gustavus III. by Sergei. 

Prince Oscar resided at the time in the palace of the 
heir-apparent, a short distance from the Royal Palace, on 
the Square of Gustavus Adolphus, in the centre of which 
stands Sergei’s equestrian statue of the great soldier. He 
is represented as a victor crowned with laurels. 

At three o’clock in the afternoon, his Majesty the King 
and his Royal Highness Prince Oscar, accompanied by 
the chief of the Havy Department, Rear-Admiral Count 
Platen, visited the ships informally. Mr. Fox received 
them on the Miantonomoh with the customary honors. 
His Majesty examined all parts ot the monitor, and ap¬ 
peared to take great interest in evory thing connected 
with her. 

five o’clock Mr. Fox and several of the officers 
dined with Mr. Campbell at Hasselbacken (Hazel Mount), 
a fashionable resort in the Djurgtlrd, or Deer Park. 


398 


FOX'S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


The Djurgard, the favorite summer resort of Stock¬ 
holm, is unexcelled for natural beauty by any park in the 
world. Its beech-trees are unrivalled, and its oaks are 
scarcely less remarkable. Broad carriage - drives and 
sylvan paths lead through it in every direction, revealing 
at each turn some new variety of scenery. Beautiful 
lawns, sloping hills, open woods and tangled forests, deso¬ 
late crags, rocks overgrown with moss and lichen, charm¬ 
ing intermixtures of land and water, sterility and verdure, 
greet the eye on every side. 

In ancient times it was a dependency of the Cloister 
of Clara, and under Charles IX. it became a royal me¬ 
nagerie. It is now a place of recreation, and is filled 
with beautiful villas, in the Swiss and Italian style, cafes 
and restaurants, tivolis and alhambras. There are also a 
circus and a small theatre. The garden has throngs of 
visitors, particularly on pleasant evenings, when the bands 
play and the buildings and walks glow with innumerable 
lights. The people sitting at the marble tables, eating 
ices and drinking liqueurs and Swedish punch, new-comers 
passing from group to group, and the waiters flitting to 
and fro, make a lively and cheerful scene. 

The Swedes, while unlimited in the use of distilled 
spirits, are remarkable for their general sobriety. Their 
good temper is proverbial, and brawls and quarrels are 
almost unknown in their places of public resort. The 
courtesy of all classes of people toward each other is very 
noticeable to one accustomed to the manners of more 
excitable nations. 

Hasselbacken is the principal restaurant of the Djur- 


DINNER AT IIASSELBACKEN. 


399 


g&rd, a veritable culinary palace, where, surrounded by 
all that is beautiful in nature and exquisite in art, the 
bons vivantsoi Stockholm go to enjoy the pleasures of the 
table. 

About fifty gentlemen were present at the dinner 
given by the American minister, among whom were the 
chief officials of the Government and the foreign diplo¬ 
matic corps. Count Manderstrom spoke in very compli¬ 
mentary terms of the United States, to which Mr. Fox 
replied, thanking his Excellency for calling to mind the 
early proffer of Sweden to form a treaty of amity with 
the United States, then struggling for independence. He 
said that he anchored an American monitor at Stockholm 
as an acknowledgment of the services which John Erics¬ 
son had rendered to his adopted country in her dire ne¬ 
cessity, by creating this type of vessel. He expressed 
also the satisfaction of his government at the immigration 
from Sweden, composed of honest, industrious, and sober 
people ; and added that the diminution of the boundaries 
of Scandinavia, since the seventeenth century, had not 
lessened the influence of this liberty-loving race, whose 
enterprising spirit and martial character had identified it 
permanently with the civilization of Europe, and fore¬ 
shadowed an equal destiny in the Hew World, which it 
was the first to visit. 


CHAPTER XXVIII. 


RIDDARHOLM—BIRGER JARL—THE MOSEBACKEN—ULRIKSDAL 

-THE ROYAL DINNER-HAGA-ROSENDAL-DROTTNING- 

HOLM—QUEEN - DOWAGER JOSEPH INE—DEPARTURE-KIEL 

—PRINCE ADALBERT OF PRUSSIA—PARTING SALUTES. 

SEPTEMBER 23 cl .—Sunday opened with fine weather. 

In the morning, Mr. Fox, accompanied by Mr. Camp¬ 
bell and the principal officers in the squadron, visited the 
celebrated Riddarholm (Knight’s Island) Church, where 
Sweden’s kings, nobles, and knights of the Seraphim Or¬ 
der, are buried. 

Riddarholm is one of the three original islands on 
which the old city was built. The church is a red-brick 
edifice, with a tall iron spire. The original building, 
which was a convent of Gray Friars, was erected by King 
Magnus Ladul&s in 1286. It is now the special mauso¬ 
leum of the knights of the Order of the Seraphim, said 
to have been founded by the same sovereign in 1285. In 
one of its towers hangs a bell, which is never used except¬ 
ing to toll the death of a brother, when his shield is 
borne to the church, to be hung upon the walls among 
the arms of those who have gone before. In front of the 


RIDDARHOLM CHURCH. 


401 


liigh altar are the monuments of Kings Magnus Ladul&s 
and Carl Knutson, with their effigies upon them, arrayed 
in royal robes and crowned. 

Gustavus Adolphus lies in one of the chapels, among 
others of his race, in a tomb prepared by himself in 1629, 
three years before he met his fate at Liitzen. His renjains 
are in a sarcophagus of Italian marble, surrounded by the 
trophies of his victories, banners dusty and torn, arms 
and military trappings, and the rusty keys of towns and 
fortresses. In the marble is chiselled the appropriate 
motto, “ Moriens Triumphavit.” Opposite is the chapel 
devoted to the Charleses, where reposes all that is earthly 
of many of the name. Here lies Charles XII., in a white 
sarcophagus on a pedestal of green marble, his tomb sur¬ 
rounded, like that of Gustavus, with the relics of his 
eventful life, drums, muskets, tattered ensigns, and other 
paraphernalia of war, reminding one of the inexorable 
lot which consigns all, prince and peasant, to a common 
dust. 

In still another chapel is the sarcophagus of Berna- 
dotte, hewn from a block of Elfdal porphyry. It is cop¬ 
ied from that of Agrippa at Rome. Hear it is the tomb 
of Oscar I., second of his line, and that of the lamented 
Prince Gustavus, his son, who, had he lived, would now 
be king. 

Ho other place in Europe is more likely to suggest to 
the reflective mind more interesting reminiscences or sad¬ 
der thoughts than this old church of Riddarholm. In its 
crypts sleep the great ones of earth, kings and warriors, 

who made indelible marks on the world’s history, in the 
26 


402 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


midst of the mouldering implements of tlieir ambition, 
while without the busy world moves on within sight and 
sound of their tombs. Public buildings surround its 
chapels, and a girdle of shipping about the island brings 
commerce within reach of its ancient towers. 

dSTot far from the church is an open place, in the cen¬ 
tre of which is the bronze statue, by Fogelberg, of Birger 
Jarl (Earl Birger), the father of King Waldemar of Swe¬ 
den, and founder of Stockholm, in 1260! The grim war¬ 
rior is clad in a full suit of scale-armor, and stands, most 
inappropriately, upon a marble pedestal. 

Across a granite bridge, connecting the Riddarliolm 
with the main island, is the Biddarhus, or House of Assem¬ 
bly of the Nobles, standing on a square of the same name. 
In its hall are the shields of more than three thousand Swe¬ 
dish nobles. It is an old building, and has been the scene 
of many important events in Swedish history. In its 
front is the bronze statue of Gustavus Yasa, crowned 
with laurel. 

The party next visited the Mosebacken (Moses Hill), 
whence is obtained a splendid view of the city and sur¬ 
rounding country. A fine square, with a theatre, the 
School of Navigation, and other public buildings, occu¬ 
pies its summit. It opens into a garden of beautiful 
walks and terraces, where a band plays, and where peo¬ 
ple come, pleasant afternoons and evenings, to drink cof¬ 
fee and to enjoy the view. 

At three o’clock Mr. Fox, Mr. Campbell, Captain 
Murray, Commander Beaumont, and six other officers of 
the squadron, started for Illriksdal, a‘favorite summer re- 


ULRIKSDAL. 


403 


sort of the reigning family, where they were invited to 
dine with their Majesties, the King and Queen, at half- 
past four o’clock. 

Ulriksdal is a large chateau, pleasantly situated on the 
lake-shore. It has been a dependency of the crown since 
the seventeenth century. It was built by the celebrated 
Jacob Pontusson de la Gardie, who named it Jakobsdal. 
It passed to his son, Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie, the 
favorite of Queen Christina, and it was from under its 
roof that the erratic daughter of Gustavns Adolphus set 
out for her coronation at Stockholm. The family of De 
la Gardie sold it to Queen Hedwiga Eleonora, who gave 
it to her grandson, Prince Ulrik, who lived long enough 
only to rename it Ulriksdal. At his death it passed to 
the crown. 

Charles XIV. (Bernadotte) made it an asylum for in¬ 
valid soldiers. Oscar I. gave it to his son, Prince Charles, 
who took it again into favor, and made it his summer 
residence. Its plain exterior suited his simple tastes, and 
after he became king it continued to be his favorite place 
of resort. Its interior is a splendid museum of articles of 
virtu, ancient bronzes, cabinets, armor and arms, Sevres 
ware, and ancient Chinese and Japanese curiosities, col¬ 
lected mostly by his Majesty. 

At the dinner, there were present Prince Oscar (now 
King Oscar II.), brother of the King, Princess Louise, 
the only child of their Majesties, and now wife of the 
Prince Royal of Denmark, several members of the cabi¬ 
net, and a number of the ladies of the court. Mr. Fox 
had the honor of a seat beside the Queen. 


404 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


Tlie menu , written on plain paper within a printed 
border of fruits and flowers, surmounted -by the Swedish 
crown, was as follows: 

dIner 

du 23 Septembre , 1866. 

Potage aux queues de bceuf. 

Brochets au gratin, sauce gratin, pommes de terre. 

Selle de venaison, sauce venaison, croquettes de pommes de terre. 

Bordure de foies gras it la Toulouse. 

Perdreaux bardes rotis, salade. 

Chouxfleurs, sauce au beurre. 

Fondue au Parmesan. 

G&teau de mille feuilles garni de glace. 

During the dinner his Majesty frequently addressed 
questions across the table to his guests. Before leaving 
the table he took a card-photograph of himself from his 
case, and, writing his name on it, handed it to Mr. Fox. 

After dinner, he invited the officers into his smoking- 
room, and, closing the door on the formalities of the court, 
joined his democratic friends in a cigar, and the most 
animated conversation. He inquired particularly for 
Frederick Rosen crantz, who was serving in our volunteer 
army, but formerly had been an aide-de-camp of his Ma¬ 
jesty ; and writing his own name on one of his card-photo¬ 
graphs, he requested Mr. Fox to have it delivered to him 
on his return to the United States. Mr. Fox afterward 
sent the picture through Major-General Meade, on whose 
staff Lieutenant-Colonel Rosencrantz (now of the Six¬ 
teenth Regiment of Infantry) was then serving. 

When our envoy was about to take leave of his Ma¬ 
jesty, the next day being appointed for the sailing of the 


THE CATHERINE CHURCH. 


405 


squadron, tlie King requested him to remain two days 
longer, that he might present him to the Queen-Dowager 
Josephine, his mother, daughter of Prince Eugene Beau- 
harnais. 

September 24 th .—Monday opened with fine weather. 
In the morning a second visit was made to Mosebacken, 
and to the Catherine Church on its summit. The party 
ascended to the dome of the church, which overlooks 
Stockholm, and commands a view of Haga and Bellevue, 
royal parks. In the distance the Malar stretches its 
rocky shores, crowned with birch-woods, and on the left 
a narrowing expanse of water, dotted with moving sails, 
leads to the Baltic. From this point Skeppsholm and 
Castellholm (Castle Island) appear to form a kind of 
promontory extending into the Sksengard. The two isl¬ 
ands are connected by a wooden bridge. The latter de¬ 
rives its name from a strongly-fortified brick tower on it, 
which commands the harbor. 

At five o’clock Mr. Fox, Mr. Campbell, Captain Mur¬ 
ray, Commander Beaumont, and several other officers of 
the squadron, dined with Count Platen, the Minister of 
the Kavy. About seventy persons were present. 

The Countess Platen presented Mr. Fox with two pho¬ 
tographs of portraits of Gustavus Yasa. 

September 25 th .—On Tuesday morning, which was 
foggy, Mr. Fox and several of the officers drove to Haga, 
one of the largest and most beautiful of the royal parks 
of Europe. It was created by Gustavus III., who bought 


406 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


a farm named Haga on the site, in 1771, and, a few years 
after, built the residence still standing. It was from this 
little palace that the King went to the opera-house on the 
fatal 16th of March, 1792. 

Hot far from Haga is the Church of Solna, believed 
by antiquaries to be one of the most ancient buildings in 
Sweden. It is circular in form, and is built of round 
stones. It was once a pagan temple, hut became a 
Christian church in the earliest days of Christianity in 
Sweden. In its yard is buried Berzelius, the great 
chemist. 

The party went thence to Rosen dal, a summer resi¬ 
dence connecting with the Djurg&rd, built by King 
Charles XIV. In its garden stands the great porphyry 
vase from Elf dal, in Dalecarlia. 

At half-past two o’clock, Mr. Fox, Mr. Campbell, and 
the other invited gentlemen, went, in company with the 
King and Prince Oscar, on a little steamer to Drottning- 
holrn, the summer residence of the Queen-Dowager Jose¬ 
phine, situated on Lofon, a beautiful island of Lake Ma¬ 
lar. An hour was occupied in the trip. On arrival, his 
Majesty showed his guests through the palace and pointed 
out to them the many objects of interest in and around 
it. 

Drottningholm is the most stately country palace in 
the land, and merits the name of the Versailles of Swe¬ 
den. Its foundations were laid by Queen Hedwiga Eleo¬ 
nora on the site of a chateau which had been burned in 
1661, the same year in which Louis XIV. began the al¬ 
terations and additions which converted the hunting- 


QUEEN-DOWAGER JOSEPHINE. 


407 


lodge of Louis XIII. into one of tlie most remarkable 
royal residences in Europe. The architect of Drottning- 
holm was Tessin the elder, but the grand staircase was 
the work of Tessin the younger, who designed also the 
park and magnificent gardens. The palace has splendid 
• galleries of paintings and sculpture, and rare collections 
of precious marbles and of old Gobelin tapestries. One 
gallery, devoted to pictures of the contemporaries of 
Charles XV., contains a fine portrait of the Empress of 
Austria, one of the most beautiful women of the age. 
The gardens are profusely ornamented with vases and 
statuary, fountains, miniature lakes, and pretty islets. 
Among the buildings is the China Palace, a pavilion in 
the Chinese style, which was built at Stockholm by King 
Adolphus Frederick, brought by water and set up at 
Drottningholm as a surprise to his queen, Louisa Ulrica, 
on her birthday. It is now a museum of Chinese and 
Japanese curiosities. 

Mr. Fox and the gentlemen accompanying him were 
presented to the Queen Dowager by his Majesty the 
King. The Queen, her daughter, and several maids of 
honor, were present at the ceremony. 

Queen Josephine, the eldest child of Prince Eugene 
Beanharnais, was born March 14, 1807. She is now 
(1873) the only living grandchild of the Empress Jose¬ 
phine. 

At four o’clock lunch was served. The ladies sat at a 
table by themselves. The King, Prince Oscar, and the 
Americans, ate standing. 

The menu was written within an. ornamental border 


408 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


printed in black, with the crown surrounded by rays at 
the top: 


DEJEUNER DINATOIRE 

de 25 Septembre, 1866. 

Potage a la Windsor. 

Saumons frais, garnis d’huitres. 
Roast-beef & l’Anglaise. 

Poulets santes aux champignons. 

Coqs de bruySre garnis de gelinottes. 
Salade de laitue. 

Petits pois la Fran 9 aise. 

Glace au marasquin et petits gateaux. 
Dessert. 


After lunch, photographs were exchanged, and the 
gentlemen were invited to record their names in a book. 
The King then took leave of the party, putting them in 
charge of Prince Oscar, who, at the request of Queen Jo¬ 
sephine, drove them about the park, and showed the dif¬ 
ferent points of interest. 

At evening they reembarked for Stockholm on the 
same little steamer which had brought them to Drottning- 
liolm. 

On their arrival in the city Mr. Fox and his compan¬ 
ions bade adieu to their friends, and went on board the 
ships, expecting to sail early in the morning. 

September 2 Qth .—Wednesday opened with thick fog, 
which lasted all day, preventing the departure of the squad¬ 
ron. In the evening some of the officers attended the 
opera of the “ Prophet,” in which the American skater, 
J. Ilaines, performed on parlor-skates. 


DEPARTURE FROM STOCKHOLM. 


409 


September 27Ih. — At nine a. m., Thursday morning, 
the fog lifted, and the ships got under way. Count 
Platen sent a Swedish gunboat to accompany them down 
the Skaengard, and to see them safely into clear water. 
The United States minister went a part of the way down 
with Mr. Fox, and was cheered at his departure. The 
squadron went out by the Landseer Passage. The gun¬ 
boat continued with them until seven o’clock p. m., when 
she exchanged cheers with our vessels, and returned to 
Stockholm. 

September 28 th .—Friday opened with fine, clear weath¬ 
er, with the wind from the south and a smooth sea. 
Early in the morning Gottland Island was passed, and in 
the afternoon Bornholm was seen on the east. The for¬ 
mer belongs to Sweden, the latter to Denmark. Born¬ 
holm has a rocky coast, with high, precipitous cliffs. 

September 29 th .—Light southerly wind and a smooth 
sea; the weather still fine and clear. The ships passed 
between Laaland and Falster Islands and the main-land of 
Mecklenburg, heading for Kiel Bay. Laaland, Falster, and 
several other small islands in the same group, constitute 
the district of Laaland, in Denmark. The larger island 
is about sixty miles long, and is low, level, and mostly 
marshy. It has a lake in its centre, about five miles in 
length. 

About six o’clock p. m. the squadron passed through 
the Fehmern Strait, and at eleven o’clock both ships came 
to anchor off the town of Kiel. An officer came on board 


410 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


at once, in the name of tlie admiral commanding, to offer 

* * 

official greetings, and to extend the usual courtesies. 

Kiel, previous to the Sleswig-Holstein War in 1866, 
•was a province of Denmark, but it now belongs to Prus¬ 
sia. It is situated on the Kielerfiord, a deep bay of the 
Baltic, which has finely-wooded banks and all the appear¬ 
ance of a lake. It is a well-built, walled town, with 
straight, well-paved streets, and contains about twenty 
thousand inhabitants. Its market-place, which is large 
and picturesque, contains several fine buildings, among 
them the Church of St. Nicholas, which has a lofty tower. 
At the east end of the town is the castle, the residence 
of the Duke of Holstein-Gliicksburg. It is a modern 
structure, having been rebuilt since 1838. The univer¬ 
sity, founded in 1665, has a library of eighty thousand 
volumes, and usually about three hundred students. The 
environs of the town are very beautiful, with pleasant 
walks amid shady groves, and fine views of the Baltic and 
of the surrounding country. 

Kiel, as the principal fortified naval port of Prussia, 
is rapidly growing into importance. It is the best harbor 
on the south of the Baltic, having plenty of water, and 
its spacious quays admitting vessels drawing sixteen feet. 
It is also admirably situated for trade, it being the ter¬ 
minus of the Holstein Canal, which connects the Baltic 
with the German Ocean. 

September 30 th .—Sunday opened with clear, warm 
weather. Mr. Fox and Captain Murray went on shore in 
the morning, and made an official call on Pear-Admiral 


I 


VISIT OF PRINCE ADALBERT. 


411 


Jackman, commanding the district. Mr. Fox then tele¬ 
graphed to the United States minister at Berlin, the 
Honorable Joseph A. Wright, informing him of the arri¬ 
val of the squadron in Prussian waters. Mr. Wright an¬ 
swered that he would go to Kiel on the morrow (Monday), 
in company with Prince Adalbert, the commander-in- 
chief of the navy, to visit the monitor. 

At half-past seven o’clock, Mr. Fox, Captain Murray, 
and Commander Beaumont, and a number of other offi¬ 
cers of the squadron, supped with Admiral Jackman. 
Forty or fifty guests were present, and the evening passed 
in the most agreeable manner. 


October 1st .—The pleasant weather continued. At 
nine o’clock the Augusta saluted the Prussian flag with 
twenty-one guns, and afterward the admiral with thirteen 
guns. The national salute was returned, and a salute of 
fifteen guns was given to Mr. Fox as Assistant Secretary 
of the Kavy. 

At ten o’clock, the United States minister, Mr. 
Wright, arrived. At eleven o’clock, his Royal High¬ 
ness, Prince Adalbert, admiral and commander-in-chief 
of the Prussian Havy, came on board of the Augusta. 
He was saluted, as admiral, with seventeen guns, and 
was received with all the honors due his rank and 
position. He went thence on board of the Mianto- 
nomoh, accompanied by Mr. Fox, Mr. Wright, and the 
principal officers. The Prince remained two hours on 
the ship, and examined her in all her parts with minute 


care. 


412 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


Prince Henry William Adalbert, born October 29, 
1811, is the son of Prince Frederick Louis Charles, who 
was the son of King Frederick William II. of Prussia. 
He is, therefore, first cousin to the present King, now 
Emperor of Germany. 

At six o’clock, Mr. Fox, Captain Murray, and Com¬ 
mander Beaumont, had the honor of dining with his 
Poyal Highness in the town. About fifty officials and 
naval officers were present. The United States minister 
sat on the Prince’s right, and Mr. Fox on his left. The 
Prince toasted the American Uavy, to which Captain 
Murray replied happily. Speeches were made by Mr. 
Wright, Mr. Fox, and others, the customary toasts were 
drunk, and the dinner passed of in the most sociable 
manner. 

On this day Mr. Fox indorsed on Captain Murray’s 
orders that he had no further need of the ships, and they 
made ready to sail in accordance with previous instruc¬ 
tions. 

October 2d .—On Tuesday morning Mr. Fox took leave 
of the ships. As he departed, the American flag was 
hauled down at the main, and he was saluted with fifteen 
guns. He left on the evening train for Hamburg. 


CHAPTER XXIX. 


OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE, 


r I lIIE following correspondence needs no explana- 
tion: 


[am. FOX TO MR. SEWARD.] 

Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 

December IV, 1866. 


Sir : Having returned from my visit to Russia on tire 
13tli instant, I discharge a duty by enclosing to you here¬ 
with the following papers introductory—a memorandum 
of papers in Russian : 

1. Autograph letter of Peter the Great. 

2. A poem by Derschavin, a lyric poet of the time of Catherine II., 
with autographic corrections and remarks. 

3. An autographic poem by Puschkin. 

4. A letter of Schukowsky, governor of Alexander II. 

6. A fragment, autographic, of Gogol. 

6. “ The First Snow,” a poem by Countess Rostopchine (autographic). 

V. A facsimile from the Russian history of Karamzin; and— 

8. An autographic remark by Schafarik. 

I received these, last August, from Mr. Pogodin, a 
distinguished citizen of Moscow, who requested me to 
present them to some national institute or museum in 


414 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


Washington. I ask you to acknowledge their receipt, 
and to give such direction to them as in your judgment 
shall best fulfil the wishes of the donor. 

I have the honor to be your obedient servant, 

G. Y. Fox, 

Late Assistant Secretary of the Navy. 
Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. G. 

[am. SEWARD TO MR. FOX.] 

Department op State, Washington, i 
December 20, 1866. f 

Sir : I have received your communication of the 17th 
instant, and its accompaniments, which Mr. Pogodin re¬ 
quested you to present to some national institute or mu¬ 
seum in this city. I have placed them among the 
archives of the department, and I beg that you will ac¬ 
cept my thanks for your kindness in allowing me the 
privilege of disposing of these interesting autographs. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

William II. Seward. 

G. Y. Fox, Esq., 

Portsmouth , New Hampshire. 

[MR. FOX TO MR. SEWARD.] 

Washington, D. C., February 25, 1867. 

Sir : On the 30th of September last I submitted to 
you a hasty narrative of the reception which I met with 
in Russia while executing your instructions in delivering 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


415 


personally to tlie sovereign of that country the resolution 
of Congress expressive of the feelings of the people of the 
United States in reference to his providential escape 
from the hand of an assassin. I have recorded in that 
narrative the remarks -of the Emperor, and the various 
demonstrations of the people, which manifested their 
gratification at the sympathy felt for them by the Ameri¬ 
can people. I have endeavored in this way to comply 
with the wish often repeated to me by his Majesty, to 
make known to the Government and my countrymen the 
feelings of friendship which existed in Russia toward 
America. But all that I have written myself and all 
that was written for the press, by persons far more capa¬ 
ble than I feel myself to be to describe the manifesta¬ 
tions of these feelings, fail to convey any adequate idea 
of the enthusiasm which pervades the people of Russia 
toward the United States, and their sincere wishes for 
the continued prosperity and power of our country. 

The expression of the sympathy felt by the Emperor 
for this country in its great struggle for national unity, 
made by Prince Gortchakoff, in 1861, when several of 
the great powers of Europe were cooperating in the 
effort to destroy it, and taking measures to profit by its 
destruction, was gratefully appreciated by the Govern¬ 
ment and people of the United States as a timely and 
effective demonstration in our behalf. But it was not 
until I had traversed so great a part of the Russian Em¬ 
pire, and witnessed how cordial and wide-spread among 
all classes in that powerful country was the friendship 
for America, that I appreciated the practical importance 


416 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


of the Emperor’s sympathy in its bearings upon the 
course of our great contest, and in its influence upon the 
conduct of other nations toward us. 

The crowds that gathered around us at every social 
meeting, singing the plaintive national songs, the flowers 
presented by the hands of beauty and innocence, the 
numerous presents offered upon all suitable occasions, 
the imperial honor granted at Kostroma of casting down 
their garments for us to walk upon, the deep feeling 
which the great mass of the people evinced whenever the 
name of our country was mentioned, and the many 
touching incidents which such sympathies evoked, were 
not produced by curiosity or instigated by officials. The 
Russians have been familiar with royal embassies from 
powerful and magnificent courts for many centuries. It 
was a heart-impulse of the people in favor of our country 
which occasioned these extraordinary demonstrations 
toward the messenger of good-will, founded on their in¬ 
stinctive knowledge that, while our countries were widely 
separated from each other on the globe and in forms of 
government, there was yet a community of interest on 
great points which identified the friendships of the peo¬ 
ple with patriotism itself. 

It may serve to illustrate the prevailing feeling re¬ 
specting the relations of the two countries to state that I 
saw at the residence of Prince Gortcliakoff, in St. Pe¬ 
tersburg, a beautiful model, in steel, of one of Ericsson’s 
monitors, a form of vessel now associated in the popular 
mind with American genius and power, which had been 
presented to the prince as a grateful recognition of the 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


417 


part lie liad borne as liis Majesty’s Minister of Foreign 
Affairs. 

With great respect, your obedient servant, 

G. Y. Fox. 

Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State. 

[MR. SEWARD TO MR. FOX.] 

Department of State, ) 
Washington, February 25, 1867. ) 

Sir: I have received your interesting letter of this 
date, giving an account of the manner in which you have 
executed the instructions of this Department with refer¬ 
ence to the presentation to the Emperor of Russia of the 
resolution of Congress congratulating him upon his es¬ 
cape from an attempted assassination. 

In reply, I have to inform you that your proceedings 
upon the occasion referred to are entirely approved. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

William H. Seward. 

G. Y. Fox, Esq., Washington. 

[MR. FOX TO MR. SEWARD.] 

Washington, D. C., February 25, 1867. 
Sir : I have reported the gifts and distinctions be¬ 
stowed upon the officers and myself while in Europe last 
summer. 

Article I., Sec. 9, of the Constitution of the United 
States declares that— 

“ No title of nobility shall be granted by the United 

States; and no person holding any office of profit or 
27 


418 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


trust under tliem shall, without the consent of Congress, 
accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any 
kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.” 

Agreeable to the spirit of this prohibition, and in be¬ 
half of all recipients, I briefly enumerate the honors and 
presents which come under this restriction, and such as 
are, in my opinion, doubtful. 

At St. Petersburg the officers of the two vessels re¬ 
ceived from the Emperor a present of one or more books. 
Captain Murray, the senior officer, and Commander Beau¬ 
mont were each presented with a diamond ring, in the 
name of his Majesty. 

At an interview with Prince Gortchakoff, Minister of 
Foreign Affairs, previous to my departure, he was kind 
enough to speak favorably of my conduct of the mission 
intrusted to me, and he announced that the Emperor de¬ 
sired to bestow on me a souvenir of himself, as an ex¬ 
pression of his personal satisfaction with me, and that he 
trusted it would be accepted and retained. He then 
handed me a magnificent enamelled gold snuffbox, which 
had upon its lid a miniature of the Emperor Alexander 
II., surrounded with large diamonds. He gave me a copy 
of his own address at the English Club dinner, a copy of 
the autograph letter of the Emperor to the President, 
both of which have been published, and a copy of his dis¬ 
patch to the Russian Minister at Washington, Mr. Stoeckl, 
concerning my mission, dated at Peterhof, August |-f-, 
1866, not yet published. 

I had the honor to have conferred on me the hon¬ 
orary citizenship of the cities of Cronstadt, St. Peters- 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


419 


burg, Moscow, Kostroma, and Kortcheva, which required 
the authorization of the Emperor, and therefore may 
come within the limit of the prohibition in the Constitu¬ 
tion. 

I have a large number of books, received from institu 
tions, individuals, and societies, which are now in the 
Boston Kavy-Yard. They are mostly statistical, and, al¬ 
though personal gifts, I intend to distribute them where 
the information they contain will be made useful, by 
translation and publication. There were books, auto¬ 
graphs, and other articles, sent to me with special requests, 
which have been allotted as the donors requested. 

Before leaving Paris, on my way to the United States, 
the Emperor Napoleon III. sent me the cross of an officer 
of the Legion of Honor, and upon my return, after I had 
ceased to be an official of the United States, I received 
notice that the King of Denmark had sent me the cross 
of Commander of the Order of Dannebrog, and the King 
of Italy the cross of Commander of St. Maurice and St. 
Lazarus. 

I believe it proper to refer these matters to Congress 
for its action, although I am no longer in the public ser¬ 
vice. Accordingly, I have the honor to request that you 
will give this communication that direction. 

With great respect, 

Your ob’t servant, 

G. Y. Fox. 

Hon. ¥m. H. Sewaed, Secretary of State. 


420 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


[MR. FOX TO MR. SEWARD.] 


Portsmouth, New Hampshire, July 23, lSG?. 


Sm: Id a letter whicli I had the honor to write on 
the 25th of February last, I reported to you that a large 
number of books had been presented to me in Russia, 
upon the occasion of my visit to that country as bearer 
of the resolution of Congress. 

Through the kindness of Professor Henry, a correct 
catalogue of these books has been prepared, which is 
herewith transmitted. 

Those which were presented to me by the Emperor 
of Russia I have retained, under authority given to me 
by joint resolution of Congress. 

The remainder I present, through the State Depart¬ 
ment, to the library of the Smithsonian Institution, which 
now forms a part of the national library of our country. 

With great respect, your obedient servant, 

G. V. Fox. 


Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State. 


[MR. SEWARD TO MR. FOX.] 

Department of State, Washington, ) 
September 20, 1867. 1 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 
your letter of the 23d of July last, transmitting a cata¬ 
logue of books presented to you by the Emperor of Rus¬ 
sia upon the occasion of your visit to that country as the 
bearer of the resolution of Congress. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


421 


I have also to acknowledge the receipt of a large num¬ 
ber of those valuable works which have been donated by 
you to the library of the Smithsonian Institution, which 
now forms a part of the Library of Congress, namely : 179 
volumes finely bound, many in quarto, others in octavo 
major; 16 atlases and albums, illustrating accompanying 
books, texts, or descriptions, some eagle, others elephant 
size, all bound in cloth, morocco, etc.; 72 maps, some 
bound in covers or cases, four city plans in cases and on 
cloth ; and 12 pamphlets : making in all 282 pieces, all of 
which have been placed in the library of the Smithsonian 
Institution, in accordance with your intentions. 

In accepting, on behalf of the Government and people 
of the United States, so important and instructive an ac¬ 
quisition to the national library, I may safely assure you 
that they will be gratefully appreciated and carefully pre¬ 
served. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

William H. Seward. 

G. V. Fox, Esq., Washington. 

[from ADMIRAL CRABBE TO MR. FOX.] 

St. Petersburg, Russia, ) 

May 9 (21), 1869. ) 

Sir : The Russian nation has a most retentive mem¬ 
ory for the past attention and respect paid to their be¬ 
loved Emperor. And the American embassy in the year 
1866 is still fresh in the memory of the people. As a 
proof of this fact, I have the pleasure, at the request of 
the brothers Milutine, merchants of Tcherepovetz, to for- 


422 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


ward you a case containing the picture of a memorial 
which has been shown to the Emperor, and most gra¬ 
ciously approved of by his Majesty. 

I flatter myself with the idea that this picture will he 
a pleasing memento to you and yours of the lasting im¬ 
pression produced in Russia by the embassy sent by the 
American Congress, of which you were the worthy chief. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to assure you of my 
high consideration, and remain, 

Sir, your obedient humble servant, 
(Signed) Crabbe. 

To the Honorable Gustavtts V. Fox, 

Portsmouth, N. II, U. S. of America. 

Description of the Ornamental Window forming the 
Frame of the Memorial sent to the Honorable Gustavus 
Y. Fox, by the Brothers Miluteste, Merchants of 
Tcherepovetz. 

The frame is carved in Russian wood of different 
qualities and tints, from a design by Colonel FT. Mussard. 
The carving was done in twelve days by a Russian peas¬ 
ant, Leontieff. 

The objects represented on the frame are as follows : 

The Byzantine Cross. 

The Chalice. 

A star on each side. 

A Russian salt-cellar. 

The Bread. 

A Russian towel on supporters. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


423 


The arms of the Government of Novgorod. 

The Dove with an olive-branch. 

The picture inside represents the memorial stand, with 
inscriptions. 

On both sides of the ornamental window are ears of 
corn, the emblems of fertility. 

The whole is executed in pure Russian style. 

[from me. fox to seceetaey fish.] 

Lowell, Mass., Sept. 21, 1869. 

Sie : I have the honor to enclose herewith a copy of 
a letter from Vice-Admiral Crabbe, Minister of Marine at 
St. Petersburg, forwarded with the memorial picture, by 
the Consul-General of Russia at New York, a copy of 
whose letter is also enclosed. 

The letter of the minister and the testimonial which 
accompanied it are expressive of the grateful remem¬ 
brance which Russia cherishes for the sympathetic reso¬ 
lution of Congress, which I had the honor to present to 
the Emperor in 1866. 

With great respect, your obedient servant, 

G. Y. Fox. 

Hon. Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State, Washington , D. C. 

[me. fish to Am. FOX.] 

Department of State, Washington, ) 
October 6, lSeL f 

Sir : I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter 
of the 21st ultimo, and the papers which accompanied it 
in relation to an interesting memorial picture which has 


424 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


been presented to you in commemoration of your mission 
to Russia. 

That memento, and the correspondence by which it 
was accompanied, are gratifying manifestations of a 
friendly spirit which I am happy to believe is cordially 
reciprocated by the people of the United States. 

I am, sir, your very obedient servant, 

(Signed) Hamilton Fish. 

G. Y. Fox, Esq., Lowell , Massachusetts. 


APPENDIX. 


A. 

DISPATCH FROM PRINCE GORTCHAKOFF, VICE-CHANCELLOR 
AND MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE EMPIRE OF 
RUSSIA, TO MR. DE STOECKL, RUSSIAN MINISTER AT WASH¬ 
INGTON. 

St. Petersburg, July 10,1861. 

Sir : From the beginning of the conflict which divides the 
United States of America you have been desired to make known to 
the Federal Government the deep interest with which our august 
master was observing the development of a crisis which puts in 
question the prosperity and even the existence of the Union. 

The Emperor profoundly regrets to see that the hope of a peace¬ 
ful solution is not realized, and that American citizens, already in 
arms against each other, are ready to let loose upon their country 
the most formidable of the scourges of political society—civil war. 

For the more than eighty years that it has existed the American 
Union owe3 its independence, its towering rise, and its progress, to 
the concord of its members, consecrated, under the auspices of its 
illustrious founder, by institutions which have been able to recon¬ 
cile union with liberty. This union has been fruitful. It has ex¬ 
hibited to the world the spectacle of a prosperity without example 
in the annals of history. 

It would be deplorable that, after so conclusive an experience, 
the United States should be hurried into a breach of the solemn 
compact which up to this time has made their power. 

In spite of the diversity of their constitutions and of their inter- 



426 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


ests, and perhaps even because of this diversity, Providence seems 
to urge them to draw closer the traditional bond which is the basis 
and the very condition of their political existence. In any event, 
the sacrifices, which they might impose upon themselves to main¬ 
tain it, are beyond comparison with those which dissolution would 
bring after it. United, they perfect themselves; isolated, they are 
paralyzed. 

The struggle which unhappily has just arisen can neither be in¬ 
definitely prolonged, nor lead to the total destruction of one of the 
parties. Sooner or later it will be necessary to come to some settle¬ 
ment, whatsoever it may be, which may cause the divergent interests 
now actually in conflict to coexist. 

The American nation would, then, give a proof of high political 
wisdom in seeking in common such a settlement before a useless 
effusion of blood, a barren squandering of strength and of public 
riches, and acts of violence and reciprocal reprisals, shall have come 
to deepen an abyss between the two parties to the confederation, to 
end definitely in their mutual exhaustion, and in the ruin, perhaps 
irreparable, of their commercial and political power. 

Our august master cannot resign himself to admit such deplo- 
rable anticipations. His Imperial Majesty still places his confidence 
in that practical good sense of the citizens of the Union, who appre¬ 
ciate so judiciously their true interests. His Majesty is happy to 
believe that the members of the Federal Government and the influ¬ 
ential men of the two parties will seize all occasions and will unite 
all their efforts to calm the effervescence of the passions. There are 
no interests so divergent that it may not be possible to reconcile 
them, by laboring to that end with zeal and perseverance, in a spirit 
of justice and moderation. 

If, within the limits of your friendly relations, your language 
and your counsels may contribute to this result, you will respond, 
sir, to the intentions of His Majesty the Emperor, in devoting to 
this the personal influence which you may have been able to acquire 
during your long residence at Washington, and the consideration 
which belongs to your character, as the representative of a sover¬ 
eign animated by the most friendly sentiments toward the American 
Union. This Union is not simply in our eyes an element essential 
to the universal political equilibrium. It constitutes, besides, a na¬ 
tion to which our august master and all Russia have pledged the 
most friendly interest; for the two countries, placed at the extremi¬ 
ties of the two worlds, both in the ascending period of their devel- 


APPENDIX. 


427 


opment, appear called to a natural community of interests and of 
sympathies, of which they have already given mutual proofs to each 
other. 

I do not wish here to approach any of the questions which di¬ 
vide the United States. We are not called upon to express our¬ 
selves in this contest. The preceding considerations have no other 
object than to attest the lively solicitude of the Emperor, in pres¬ 
ence of the dangers which menace the American Union, and the 
sincere wishes which his Majesty entertains for the maintenance of 
that great work, so laboriously raised, which appeared so rich in its 
future. 

It is in this sense, sir, that I desire you to express yourself, as 
well to the members of the General Government as to influential 
persons whom you may meet, giving them the assurance that in 
every event the American nation may count upon the most cordial 
sympathy on the part of our august master, during the important 
crisis which it is passing through at present. 

Receive, sir, the expression of my very distinguished considera¬ 
tion. 

(Signed) 

Mr. de Stoeckl, etc., etc., etc. 


GORTCHAKOFF. 


B. 


THE NAMES OF UNITED STATES MEN-OF-WAR. 

The original law regulating the nomenclature of the vessels of 
the United States was passed March 3,1819, before the introduction 
of steamers. By its provisions, vessels of the first class, ships-of- 
the-line, were named after the States of the Union ; of the second 
class, frigates, after the rivers; and of the third class, sloops, etc., 
after the cities and towns. 

The introduction of steam having created a revolution in naval 
matters, a new act was passed by Congress, March 12, 1858, which 
provided that vessels of forty guns and upward should constitute 
the first class, and should be named from the States; vessels of 
from twenty to forty guns, second class, from cities, towns, and 
rivers ; and vessels under twenty guns, third class, as the Secretary 
of the Navy, under the direction of the President, should deter¬ 
mine. 

The introduction of very large guns reduced nearly all modern 
vessels to a number below twenty guns; and the seven hundred 
ships of our civil war were named, accordingly, as the Secret ary 
pleased. He followed, however, the traditions of the Navy by pre¬ 
serving the Indian names of the country, all of which have a local 
value, and many of which have been immortalized in song and 
story. 

The rates of vessels are now designated by the Secretary of the 
Navy. They are classed as follows : 


First-rates. 3,000 tons and upward. 

Second-rates. 2,000 to 3,000 tons. 

Third-rates. 800 to 2,000 tons. 

Fourth-rates. below 800 tons. 






APPENDIX. 


429 


The tonnage is the cubic contents of the ship expressed in tons. 

In 1866 there were sixty-three iron-clads in our navy. Of these, 
forty-one were single-turret monitors and thirteen were two-turret 
monitors. The remainder were casemate vessels, with the exception 
of the Roanoke, which had three turrets. The following list shows 
the names, size of guns, and derivation of the names of the moni¬ 
tors of the same type as the Miantonomoh : 


NAME. 

BATTERY. 

Passaconaway.... 

4 15-inch 

guns. 

Quinsigamond ... 

tt 

tt 

Kalamazoo. 

tt 

tt 

Shakamaxon. 

it 

tt 

Agamenticus .... 

tt 

tt 

Monadnock. 

tt 

tt 

Miantonomoh.... 

tt 

tt 

Tonawanda. 

tt 

tt 

Puritan. 

2 20-inch 

tt 

Onondaga. 

2 15,2 11-in.guns. 

Winnebago. 

4 11-inch guns. 

Chickasaw. 

tt 

tt 

Kickapoo. 

tt 

tt 


DERIVATION OF NAME. 


The chief Indian sachem of New Hamp¬ 
shire. 

A lake in Massachusetts, and the Indian 
name of Worcester, Mass. 

A river, county, and city, in Michigan. 

A river in Pennsylvania. 

A mountain in Maine, near Portsmouth, 
New Hampshire ; the highest land on 
the sea-coast between Portland and 
the Eio Grande. 

A mountain in New Hampshire. 

Chief of the Narragansett Indians, Ehode 
Island. 

A small river in Western New York. 

An Indian tribe of Western New York. 

An Indian tribe of Michigan and Wis¬ 
consin. 

An Indian tribe of the Mississippi Valley 

l( U (( (( ll u 



















c. 


MIANTONOMOH GALOP. 

FOR THE PIANO-FORTE. 

Composed and respectfully dedicated to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy , 

Hon. G. V. FOX, 


Bt Heinrich Fuiistnow, Musical Director at Pawlowsk. 
















































































































































































APPENDIX. 


431 





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FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 




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APPENDIX. 


435 





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D. 

SPEECH OF PRINCE GORTCHAKOFF AT THE BANQUET OF THE 

ENGLISH CLUB AT ST. PETERSBURG, SEPTEMBER 8 (AUGUST 

27), I860. 

Messieurs : Nos amis d’au-dela de l’Atlantique connaissent les 
sentiments que nous inspire leur presence parmi nous et l’objet de 
leur venue. Ces sentiments leur ont Stg exprimtis a tous les degrgs 
de l’6chelle sociale, la ou l’esprit orne la pens6e, la ou le occur ne 
connait qu’un langage primitif. Ils se sont fait entendre comme 
l’6cho d’une seule voix; la mienne ne saurait gufere y ajouter. 

L’acte exceptionnel, unique dans l'histoire, par lequel le Congrfes 
a fait parvenir un message d’affection a notre Souverain, le clioix 
de la personne qui en a et£ chargee et clont tous nous avons et£ d 
mtjme d’apprgcier la haute distinction, la dignite calme, unie a la 
chaleur du occur,—l’habilete courageuse de ceux qui ont dirige la 
traversSe, en r^solvantun probl&me qui jusqu’ici avait ochappg la 
science mocleme, enfin le fait que parmi nous se trouve un repre- 
sentant de cette nation qui durant une sgrie d’annees et dans toutes 
les circonstances nous a donne une preuve de son meilleur vouloir 
pour entretenir la bonne intelligence entre les deux pays—tout cela, 
messieurs, constitue une oeuvre complete d’harmonie sans disson- 
nances. 

Je me rCjouis de la presence de ces messieurs au milieu de nous, 
car je crois que la Russie ne perd pas a etre vue de prfcs. La dis¬ 
tance arrondit les lignes d’un horizon eloigne, mais elle empeche de 
connaitre a fond les details du site. 

Je m’applauclis, que des esprits pratiques strangers a toute pre¬ 
vention soient venus nous juger tel que nous sommes. Ils auront 6t6 
a meme d’apprScier et le Souverain qui est la plus grande gloire du 
pays et la nation qui en est la force. 


APPENDIX. 


437 


On dit que les bons rogues constituent les pages blanches de 
l’histoire. Ce dicton n’est point d’une vgritg absolue. S’il y a un 
rggne dont toutes les pages sont fecondes de reformes d’une haute 
portfie dans l’interet de 1’organisation interieure; s’il est un rfegne 
voug a la solicitude du present, en vue d’un grand avenir—c’est celui 
qui reunit aujourd’hui tous les sentiments affectueux et dgvougs du 
p>ays; parce que tous nous avons l’intime conviction que tous les in¬ 
stants de cette noble existence sont consacres avec une abnegation 
sans limites air bien-etre de notre pays. 

Je ne citerai parmi ces oeuvres multiples que la plus grande de 
toutes,—celle de Emancipation, et ici je demande a nos amis Ameri- 
cains la permission d’un elan de franchise. Le message du Congrgs 
contient une erreur, qui ne peut s’expliquer que par la distance, 
lorsqu’il fait mention d’un ennemi de l’emancipation. L’insensg 
auquel il fait allusion n’appartient a aucune nationalitg. II n’avait 
aucun enjeu personnel dans les destinies du pays, il ne reprgsente 
que l’aveugle hasard de la naissance. 

En Russie, messieurs, il n’existe pas un seul ennemi de l’emanci¬ 
pation. Les classes qui doivent a cet acte leur liberty l’ont acclamg 
avec le mgme enthousiasme que celle a laquelle cette mesure a irn- 
pos6 de lourds sacrifices. C’est un tgmoignage que notre Souverain 
a rendu le premier a Sa noblesse territoriale, et je crois, messieurs, que 
dans cette enceinte, qui reunit les intelligences et les interSts, aucune 
voix ne s’elevera pour contredii’e mes paroles. 

Je n’ai pas besoin d’insister sur les manifestations de sympathies 
entre les deux pays. Elies gclatent au grand jour. C’est un fait des 
plus interessants de notre gpoque,—un fait qui cree entre deux peu- 
ples,—je me permettrai de dire, entre deux continents,—des germes 
de bienveillance et d’amitie reciproque qui porteront fruit, qui 
crgent des traditions et qui tendent £ consolider entre eux des rap¬ 
ports basgs sur un veritable esprit de civilisation chretienne. Cette 
entente ne repose pas sur une proximite geograpliique. L’abime des 
mers nous sgpare. Elle ne repose pas non plus sur des parcliemins, 
—je n’en trouve aucune trace dans les archives du ministfere qui m’est 
config. Elle est instinctive; dfes lors j’ose me permettre de l’appeler 
providentielle. Je m’applaudis de cette entente. J’ai foi dans sa 
durge. Dans ma situation politique tous mes soins tendront a la 
consolider. Je dis soins, et non efforts, parce qu’il ne faut pas 
d’efforts quand il s’agit d’une attraction spontange et rgciproque. 

Un autre motif qui me porte a proclamer hautement mon apprg- 
ciation de cette entente,—c’est qu’elle n’est ni une menace, ni im 


438 


FOX’S HISSIOX TO RUSSIA. 


pgril pour personne. Elle ne s’inspire d’aucune convoitise, d’aucune 
arriere-pensee. Le Seigneur a fait aux deux pays des conditions 
d’existence oh leur grande vie interieure peut leur suffire. 

Les Etats-Unis d’Amgrique sont invulngrables chez eux. Cet 
gtat de chosesne se fonde pas seulement sur le fait que le rempart de 
l’Ocgan les garantit des conflits Europgens, mais sur l’esprit public qui 
y rggne, sur le caractgre personnel des citoyens. L’Amgrique ne 
peut gprouver de mal que celui qu’elle se ferait elle-meme. Nous 
avons couvert de crgpe les pages douloureuses de ces derniers temps. 
Nous avons vu avec un profond regret la lutte entre les frgres du 
Nord et les frferes du Sud, mais nous avons toujours eu foi dans le 
triomphe final de l’Union, et nous en espgrons la consolidation dura¬ 
ble des efforts du President actuel, dont le syst&me, s’inspirant a la 
fois de fermetg et de moderation, a toutes nos sympathies. 

Sous ce rapport, messieurs, je me permets de trouver aussi une 
certaine analogie entre les deux pays. La Russie, par sa position 
ggographique, peut etre entrainee dans les complications Euro- 
pgennes; les chances de la guerre peuvent nous faire subir des 
revers. Nganmoins je pense que la meme invulnerabilite existe 
ggalement pour la Russie et qu’elle se manifestera toutes les fois que 
la dignite et l’honneur du pays seraient serieusement menacgs, car 
alors, comme dans toutes les crises de notre histoire, la puissance 
veritable de la Russie se fera jour; elle ne repose pas uniquement 
sur son gtendue territoriale, ou sur le chiffre de sa population ; elle 
decoule du lien intime et indissoluble qui unit le Souverain a la 
nation et qui remet entre Ses mains toutes les forces materielles et 
intellectuelles du pays, comme elle concentre en Lui aujourd’hui 
tous les sentiments d’amour et de dgvouement. 

Je vous remercie, messieurs, de l’indulgence que vous avez ac- 
cordge a mes paroles, tout en regrettant que les sentiments qui nous 
animent tous aient re<pi une expression aussi imparfaite. 

Avant de terminer je ne veux pas laisser subsister une lacune 
que nos amis d’Amgrique seraient en droit de nous reprocher, si 
j’oubliais de consacrer des paroles de respect it la mgmoire du Presi¬ 
dent Lincoln,—de ce grand citoyen qui a sacrifie sa vie dans l’accom- 
plissement de ses devoirs. 

Yeuillez permettre que, revenant sur une sante que nous avons 
deja portge, je propose un toast a la prospgritg des Etats-Unis, au suc- 
cfes de l’oeuvre de pacification du president actuel, a M. Fox auquel 
a gtg config une tache qui ne pouvait pas gtre remise en de meilleures 
mains, aux Capitaines Murray et Beaumont dont l’intrgpide habi- 


APPENDIX. 


439 


letg a assure la rgussite de cette lointaine trayersge, ainsi que col- 
lectivement it tous ceux qui y out participg. Je ne commettrai pas 
l’ingratitude d’oublier le Reprgsentant actuel des Etats-Unis au milieu 
de nous, qui nous a constamment donng des preuves de son affection 
pour la Russie. 

Lorsque nos amis d’Amerique rentreront chez eux je desire 
qu’ils emportent et conservent les sentiments qu’ils nous Rguent; 
qu’ils disent a leurs compatriotes qu’une grande nation n’oubliera 
jamais la preuve de sympathie offerte a son Souverain, qu’elle 
n’oubliera jamais qu’il s’est trouve dans l’histoire des deux pays un 
moment ou nous et nos amis d’Amgrique avons vg<;u de la mgme vie, 
ou ils ont partagg nos angoisses, comme ils se sont associgs a nos 
joies. 


E. 


RECEPTION OF HIS IMPERIAL HIGHNESS THE GRAND - DUKE 

ALEXIS, IN LOWELL. 

[From the Lowell Vox Populi, Pec. 13, 1871.] 

The pleasure which our citizens derived, on Saturday, from the 
visit of the third son of our good friend the Emperor Alexander 
II. of Russia, is due to the fact that our fellow-citizen, Honorable 
G. V. Fox, was sent to that country, in 1866, on a special mission, a 
full account of which, collated from the Russian papers, was pub¬ 
lished by order of the State Department, and can be found in the 
diplomatic correspondence of 1867-’69. 

The Russian minister having sent word that the Grand-duke 
would “ certainly visit his good friend Mr. Fox, at Lowell,” an 
official invitation by his honor Mayor Sherman was sent to New 
York and accepted. A city committee was immediately appointed, 
consisting of Mayor Sherman, Aldermen Haggett, Battles, and Sal¬ 
mon, and Councilmen Perkins, Cummiskey, Sanborn, Blanchard, 
and Knapp. These gentlemen, in consultation with Captain Fox, 
made the arrangements, which have proved so agreeable to our dis¬ 
tinguished visitors. Saturday, the 9th instant, at 9 a. m., having 
been designated as the hour to leave Boston, a committee of the 
city government, consisting of Aldermen Haggett and Salmon, and 
Councilman' Perkins, proceeded to Boston Friday afternoon, to pay 
their respects and arrange for taking charge of the party at the 
Revere House. The Boston, Lowell & Nashua Railroad Company 
placed a special train at the service of the Lowell city government, 
one car of which was a superb “ Pullman.” 

At 7.30, all the aldermen and councilmen proceeded to Boston. 
The Grand-duke, with his usual promptness, left the Revere House 


APPENDIX. 


411 


precisely at 8.50, under the escort of the city committee, and was 
received at the station by the aldermen and councilmen of Lowell, 
and at 9 o'clock they were under way. There was no important 
incident on the route; the usual introductions, the cordial frater¬ 
nization of the two nationalities, and the inevitable cigarettes, con¬ 
sumed the time, and at 9.80 the train entered the Middlesex-Street 
station, where the Grand-duke was received by the Honorable G. 
Y. Fox, and introduced to his Honor Mayor E. F. Sherman, who 
sincerely welcomed him to Lowell, and the party immediately took 
seats in carriages in the following order : 

First carriage—His Imperial Highness the Grand-duke Alexis ; 
his Excellency C. Catacazy, Russian Minister; his Honor the Mayor, 
E. F. Sherman; Honorable G. Y. Fox. 

Second carriage—Vice-Admiral Possiet, Russian Imperial Navy; 
Rear-Admiral C. Steedman, United States Navy ; Alderman Battles, 
Councilman Perkins. 

Third carriage—Count Olsonfieff, Alderman Salmon, Mr. Shir- 
koff, Secretary of the Russian Legation; Mayor Gaston, of Boston. 

Fourth carriage—W. D. Bodisco, Russian Consul-General at New 
York ; Alderman Haggett, Councilman Cummiskey. 

Fifth carriage—The Press, represented by Mr. Marden, Mr. Stone, 
Mr. Knapp, and Mr. Hills. 

Several other carriages, containing distinguished gentlemen from 
Boston and New York, followed. 

There was a large crowd at the station, and, though the Duke 
was troubled with a slight cold, arising from his determination to 
go bravely through all the greetings, so cordially extended to him, 
yet the cheers and the tremendous ringing of bells all over the city 
at once awakened his attention, and afforded him gratification. 
The visitors proceeded rapidly through Thorndike, Highland, Elm, 
Central, and Hurd Streets, to the Middlesex Mills, entering at the 
second gate and driving to No. 8 Mill, where the party alighted and 
ascended to the weave-room, examining carefully the beautiful 
shawls produced by the skill of the girls ; thence to the twist-room, 
where the Russian flag, surrounded by all the products of this com¬ 
pany, was arranged in the most tasteful manner. The works ot the 
Middlesex Company being under the direction of Captain Fox, 
special efforts seem to have been made to please the ducal party. 
The Russian flag was hoisted at the largest mill, and the American 
flag at the office. When the Grand-duke rode through the yard 
on his way out, he found the bell ringing, and all the operatives 


442 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


assembled to cheer him, which he frequently acknowledged by 
gracefully lifting his hat. 

The next mill visited was the Lowell Company’s, Samuel Fay, 
agent. Here the finished carpets were first shown, and then a rapid 
survey of all the weaving. At the Merrimack Mills, J. G. Palfrey, 
superintendent of the cotton, and IT. Burrows, superintendent of 
printing, a more extended examination was made. The Grand- 
duke most cheerfully consented to visit several weave-rooms, at the 
request of the girls, who sent a message to that effect. The print¬ 
ing of calicoes and the various processes shown by Mr. Burrows, 
were of special interest to the Russians; and at their departure 
they were shown the photograph of the print-mills at Moscow, 
given to Mr. Burrows by Mr. Fox on his return from Russia. It 
was at this mill, in 1866, that Mr. Fox obtained the patterns which 
he gave to the Pacific Mills, at Lawrence, and the Merrimack, at 
Lowell, whence came the very successful fabric called robe cle cham- 
bres. Leaving these works, they drove to the Lawrence Company, 
Daniel Hussey, agent, and were taken through the hosiery and 
finishing department. Upon leaving, the Grand-duke expressed a 
desire to look at a boarding-house where the operatives lived. His 
request was immediately complied with ; and, without any warning 
to the house-keeper, or any of the inmates, he and the Russian min- 
istre walked into No. 37, on the Lawrence Corporation, followed 
by Mr. Hussey, the agent, and Captain Fox. They examined the 
kitchen, the food, the sitting-room, the bedrooms, and at each 
place the Grand-duke and Mr. Catacazy had a parley in their own 
language ; and finally the Grand-duke said to Captain Fox, “ I 
wish we had such places as this in Russia.” 

The period for the “ zakuska ” at Captain Fox’s having nearly 
arrived, a drive to the Pawtucket Falls was made, thence down 
Merrimack Street to No. 355, the residence of our fellow-citizen. The 
Russian and American flags were displayed on staffs to the right and 
left of the entrance, the Russian occupying the post of honor, and 
adorned with a wreath of laurel-leaves fastened with blue and white 
ribbons, used at Mr. Fox’s reception in St. Petersburg. A large crowd 
had assembled in front of the house, which cheered the Grand-duke 
lustily as he entered, followed by his suite, the Mayor, and City 
Committee. The ladies assembled to receive his Imperial Highness 
were: Mrs. G. Y. Fox; Mrs. Levi Woodbury, of Portsmouth, N. H. 
(her mother) ; Miss Ellen de Quincy Woodbury (her sister); Miss 
Mary Clapp), of Portland, Me. (her cousin) ; and Miss Anna Fox, of 


APPENDIX. 


44 3 


Lowell, a niece of Captain Fox. There were also present as rela¬ 
tives : Hon. A. W. H. Clapp, of Portland ; Hon. Charles Levi Wood¬ 
bury, of Boston ; Mr. L. Woodbury Blair; and Mr. Woodbury Low¬ 
ery, of Harvard College. Mr. Fox presented his wife and each of 
the ladies and his relatives to the Grand-duke, after which there 
were no more formal presentations. The display of flowers was very 
abundant, and exceedingly graceful, and seemed appropriate for one 
so young. 

His Imperial Highness and suite became very much interested in 
the memorials of Captain Fox’s mission to Russia, the gifts of the 
Emperor Alexander II., and the cities and public bodies of that 
country. The diamond snuffbox, containing an exquisite portrait 
of the Emperor on ivory, surrounded by brilliants, was much ad¬ 
mired by all. Next was a photograph of the Emperor, in a frame 
representing the window of a Swiss chalet ; this hung ten years in 
the city-hall at Moscow. The casket of malachite and golden 
bronze, more than two feet square, containing the diploma of citizen¬ 
ship of St. Petersburg, was the most conspicuous object in the draw¬ 
ing-room. Near it was the portfolio of the Moscow citizenship, the 
leather and artistic mountings of which were only exceeded by the 
diploma itself. Upon the walls hung two other diplomas of citizen¬ 
ship, Kostroma and Cronstadt, elaborately executed ; also, paintings 
of St. Petersburg, copied from those in the Winter Palace. At the 
extremity of the room hung the memorial picture, in a conspicuous 
Byzantine frame, representing, with other scenes, the last presenta¬ 
tion of bread and salt to Captain Fox, on his departure from Cron¬ 
stadt. The Grand-duke remarked that he saw this in Russia. Near 
it was a large case of rare minerals, presented by the School of Mines 
at St. Petersburg, the Coronation Book and volume of antiquities, 
gifts of the Emperor, and photographs of all the places visited by 
Captain Fox. The Grand-duke and party finished by looking at a 
malachite album, containing the cartes of the imperial family and 
the most eminent men of Russia, with their autographs. 

His Imperial Highness then offered his arm to Mrs. Fox, and, 
others following, conducted the ladies to the dining-room, where a 
choice and profuse repast was spread. This room was likewise 
adorned with flowers, the portraits of the Emperor and Empress 
being tastefully ornamented with sprays pending from a representa¬ 
tion in flowers of the national crown of Russia. The portrait of the 
venerable Metropolitan Philaret occupied a conspicuous position. 
There was also the picture of the Grand-duke Constantine, Prince 


444 


FOX’S MISSION TO RUSSIA. 


Gortchakoff, and Vice-Admiral Crabbe, presented in Russia, with 
autographs; two pictures representing the banquets given to Cap¬ 
tain Fox at St. Petersburg and Moscow ; and, over the door, photo¬ 
graphs of the Church of St. Isaac, the bronze equestrian statue of 
Peter the Great, and the monitor Miantonomoh, with accompanying 
squadron, on its way to Russia. 

The Grand-duke finished his lunch by touching glasses with 
Captain Fox, and saying that he thanked him for his hospitality, 
and that his visit to Russia had left so good an impression that 
every one there wished him to return. The ladies then returned to 
the parlor, leaving the dining-room for the other guests, while the 
Duke and suite withdrew to the tea-room adjoining, where yellow 
tea was served in Russian fashion, with cigars and cigarettes. They 
examined here many war-relics, and smoked and chatted in a man¬ 
ner that placed every one at his ease. 

Two Japanese noblemen were present, and paid'their respects, 
and were questioned concerning their country. 

The hour of one o’clock having arrived, the Grand-duke and 
suite took leave of Mrs. Fox and the other ladies, and departed. As 
his Imperial Highness appeared on the steps, he found himself sur¬ 
rounded by a great crowd, in the midst of which a photographic 
artist had planted his apparatus. As soon as the Grand-duke per¬ 
ceived his object, he paused for a moment, to allow the agitated 
artist to succeed; then, entering his carriage, they drove rapidly 
through the crowd to the Merrimack-Street station. The chimes of 
St. Anne’s and all the bells of the city were ringing, and the im¬ 
mense assemblage of people at the depot gave him enthusiastic 
cheers. Through the careful arrangements of the police, no disturb¬ 
ance occurred, and the whole party were soon in the Pullman car 
and off for Boston. 

The visit seems to have given much satisfaction to the distin¬ 
guished strangers, and our citizens are pleased that every thing was 
conducted so well, and that they had an opportunity to see, very 
near, this unaffected youth, son of so noble a sire. The absence of 
speeches, of hand-shaking, of processions, of bands of music, and of 
soldiers, was appreciated. The Grand-duke saw labor and capital 
happily combined in establishments which have been models for 
the world. We cordially wish good health and long life to our 
handsome visitor, who came and left in sunshine. 































































































